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.