Pressure mounts against govt on alcohol bill

JAKARTA (JP): Pressure is mounting on the government to scrap a bill that would impose a fee on alcohol distributors and regulate the number of places allowed to sell alcohol as well as the amount allowed to be sold.

Several Moslem groups claim that the bill should be replaced with one that prohibits the sale of alcohol altogether. The bill in its current form is still being deliberated in some provincial legislative councils, though it has already been passed in several others.

In Bandung, representatives of three student organizations, including the Moslem Students Association, demanded yesterday that the West Java provincial legislative council reject the bill and replace it with an anti-alcoholic beverages bill. In Semarang, Central Java, several influential Moslem leaders have made the same call.

In Jakarta, leaders of the ruling Golkar political grouping urged Minister of Home Affairs Moch. Yogie S.M. to act cautiously, advising the minister to withdraw the bill if more disturbances are created.

"The Golkar faction at the House of Representatives and Golkar executive board are calling on the minister to be very careful and heed the people's aspirations," Golkar deputy chairman Moestahid Astari was quoted by Antara as saying.

"If the ruling only creates unrest and instability it would be better not to pass it," he said.

Jakarta's Legislative Council last month approved the bill, which would replace provincial decree No. 9/1971 on alcoholic beverage taxes. Under the old decree, a tax is only imposed on the sellers of alcohol, not the distributors.

Protests have emerged in other cities as additional legislative councils begin to deliberate the ruling.

Moestahid said that, according to Law No. 5/1974, the power to pass or drop the bill resides with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"This is why the Golkar faction and Golkar's executive board are asking the minister not to enact the ruling," he said.

Students in Bandung yesterday met with members of the local legislative council, led by Nanan Sutadipura, to demand that the bill be dropped.

In Semarang, Moslem leader Amien Rais of the 28-million member Muhammadiyah and Sahal Mahfudz of the 30-million Nahdlatul Ulama called on the government to introduce an anti-alcohol campaign instead.

"The government should reduce, even abolish, alcohol, not allow it to be legal," Sahal said. "Why risk ruining our young people?"

Earlier, the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI) has said that banning alcohol is not the best solution for Indonesia which houses people from non-Islamic religions. The council's vice chairman, Ali Yafie, said the best way is restricting production permits and distribution permits. (swe/har)