Ulemas urge city to improve alcoholic beverage decree

JAKARTA (JP): Hasan Basri, the head of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (MUI), urged the city administration to form a team to improve the provincial decree on alcoholic beverages, which is now at the Ministry of Home Affairs awaiting approval.

Hasan said yesterday in a hearing with the city council that the team, which includes experts, can improve the decree by adding aspects which were not yet covered by the decree.

"The experts will give inputs to produce a better decree, for example, by emphasizing the control of alcohol beverages. There is still time to review the decree," he said.

He said he believes the decree is aimed at controlling the distribution of the beverages, but there are many loopholes which need to be dealt with.

"There should be articles which regulate who can sell alcoholic drinks and who can buy them. The city administration should also prepare its officials who will be in charge of controlling the distribution," he said.

Hasan said he hoped the decree would be the first step by the government toward gradually banning the sale of alcohol for good because it is haram (prohibited) according to Islamic teachings.

Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher had earlier asked provincial administrations and legislators to be heedful of the aspirations of Moslem communities and to pay attention to other religious groups, as well as foreign tourists, who are allowed to drink alcohol.

Hasan said the ulemas want alcoholic drinks to be banned in the future. "I was interviewed by a foreign radio station last night and the reporters asked: `What would you do if you were a governor?' I said I would ban alcohol from the city and would stipulate that only foreigners would be allowed to buy it," he said.

A large number of ulemas from various Islamic organizations attended yesterday's meeting, which was sponsored by the administration. The meeting was supposed to be the forum for the administration to explain the goals of the decree to the ulemas.

Meanwhile, Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said the hearing was also meant to eliminate differences between the officials and the ulemas.

"Basically, the ulemas' view is similar to ours. There are some slight differences we plan to eliminate in this forum," he said.

Surjadi said the administration will do its best to control the distribution of alcoholic drinks with the new decree.

"We will form a team whose main job is to control the implementation of the decree. The public's help will be very important in this matter," he said.

Last month, the city council passed the decree to replace the current one, which is considered weak for controlling alcohol distribution.

The decree created a controversy after Moslem communities protested and accused it of being a means to socialize alcoholic beverages among Indonesians, who are mostly Moslems. They said it would encourage Moslems, especially from the younger generation, to consume alcohol.

The controversy has apparently become a political because the ruling Golkar on Wednesday urged the government to withdraw the decree. It says the decree could cause public unrest.

Golkar Deputy Chairman Moestahid Astari said that the Golkar faction at the House of Representatives and Golkar executive board are warning the minister of home affairs to be very careful and heed the people's aspirations.

The new decree stipulates that permits for distributing alcohol cost Rp 10 million (US$4,347) per year. Liquor to be sold in the city must be in bottles of at least 200cc (not 100cc as earlier reported), a measure which councilors said is part of efforts to discourage consumption by youngsters.

Labels must be attached to each bottle signifying the municipality's approval of distributors' permits. The labels will also state that liquor is harmful to one's health.

Labels will cost at least Rp 400 for 200cc to 400cc bottles with an alcohol content of 1 percent to 5 percent.

The highest fee, Rp 5,000, is for bottles of 400cc to 800cc with an ethanol content of 20 percent to 55 percent.

Fees for larger bottles are based on those for 800cc bottles. Bottles of 8,000cc, for instance, are charged Rp 50,000. (yns)