S. Kalimantan endorses bylaw banning alcohol
S. Kalimantan endorses bylaw banning alcohol
By Suriani
BANJARMASIN, South Kalimantan (Antara): This predominantly
Muslim province has already made an historic move this year. The
legislative council has endorsed a bylaw that bans alcoholic
drinks -- making South Kalimantan the first province to have
formally banned alcohol.
The legislative council drafted the bill following strong
demand from various quarters, especially Muslim ulemas and
students, for a ban on alcohol, which is strictly prohibited in
Islamic doctrine.
The demand for an alcohol-free South Kalimantan received
strong support from four of the five political factions in the
provincial legislative council.
The bill was passed after lively debates between legislators
and representatives of the provincial government.
The law practically bans production, storage, possession,
consumption, supply, sale and distribution of all kinds of
alcoholic drinks in the territory without exception. Aceh, a
predominantly Muslim province, has also banned alcohol but places
like hotels are exempted from the rule.
Anyone violating the law in South Kalimantan is liable to a
maximum penalty of six months imprisonment and/or a fine of Rp 5
million.
Legislative council chief Mansyah Addryans says the bylaw is
expected to get rid of alcohol, which has been widely attributed
to have been a factor in criminal activity.
He called for the establishment of a special team in charge of
supervising a strict enforcement of the bylaw.
"We hope that the law is strictly enforced. The public is
expected to take an active part in the supervision. Hopefully,
the province will be alcohol-free very soon," he says.
But not everyone is optimistic the bylaw will be able to keep
alcohol away from South Kalimantan. Ahmad Supawi, one of the
legislators who finalized the bylaw, predicts that getting rid of
alcohol would "remain very difficult" in spite of the law.
He says that businesspeople would do everything to help it
survive, albeit illicitly, because alcohol is big business. He
reckons that alcohol consumption reaches about 100,000 liters a
year.
In the past, alcohol businesses in South Kalimantan were
tightly regulated and supervised.
The newly passed bylaw has been received with great enthusiasm
by Muslim leaders. Chief of the local branch of the Indonesian
Ulemas Council, HM Asywadie Syukur, says he fully supports the
alcohol ban. He describes alcohol as "causing more harm than
bringing good deeds".
"We have long yearned for a ban on alcohol because Muslims
account for majority of the province's population. The bylaw is
like a ray of hope," he says.
He blames alcohol for the high crime rate in the area.
"Now the law is there. What remains to be seen is how it is
enforced," he says. He says countless numbers of lives have been
lost because of alcohol. Crimes such as rapes are on the rise and
the younger generation's future is in danger.
Asywadie challenges some provincial government
representative's arguments that alcohol has significantly
contributed to the provinces's coffers. "There are a lot more
sources of income that can be pursued," he argues.