(Jakarta Post, Reuters) "Alcohol Emergency", Ban on Alcohol Bill give prison and fines for drinkers

12/12/2018

Two Islamic faction in House (DPR) have proposed legislation that would ban all consumption of alcoholic drinks and bring jail terms of up to two years for offenders in Indonesia, home to the world's largest Muslim population. PPP faction (United Development Party/Partai Persatuan Pembangunan) is first creator, and PKS faction (Prosperous Justice Party/Partai Keadilan Sejahtera) to be second supporter about this bill.

Since January 2015, 1 from 159 priority bill (Prolegnas/Program Legislasi Nasional) initiated by the House of Representatives has proposed banning all consumption of alcoholic beverages, with imprisonment of between three months and two years for anyone caught consuming alcohol. The bill on the prohibition of alcoholic beverages, a copy of which has been obtained by wikidpr team, will put in place a ban on the sale, production, distribution and consumption of all beverages containing more than 1 percent alcohol.

It was not immediately clear how much support there would be for the parties' bill put to parliament, although previous moves to crack down on alcohol consumption have been seen as posturing to appeal to voters before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

A lawmaker for one of the parties said the bill, which could become law as early as the end of this year, was driven by concern for people's health rather than any ideological motives.

“Under the bill, consuming alcoholic beverages could land a person in jail as it will be treated similarly to drug trafficking,” Baleg member Muhammad Arwani Thomafi of the National Development Party (PPP) told Jakarta Post. Arwani insisted the bill was not merely about complying with religious norms. “The health issue is equally important. The bill will enable the state to guarantee the health and safety of its citizens because the bill will not only target producers and distributors but also consumers,” he said.

"This is not a religious or ideological issue," Abdul Hakim of the Prosperous Justice Party told Reuters. "This is purely for the protection of the children of the nation."

Another PKS lawmakers, Ansory Siregar, on Baleg (Legislation Board/Badan Legislative) meeting, told “I know about Sipirok, my hometown, famous about ‘Tuak’, but we also know this country facing alcohol emergency.”

Arwani and Ansory is spokeperson about this bill on Baleg meeting last Monday (13/4).

Another Bataknese like Ansory on same faction, Tifatul Sembiring, told on Baleg meeting “Khamr (alcohol) is source of all about crime, we know it. And this bill very urgent for this nation,”. Another Baleg member from PDIP, Masinton Pasaribu, opposite about this bill. “Very amazing to separate Bataknese with Tuak, from birth until die, Batak living with Tuak,” Masinton said.

The bill seeks to ban the sale, production, distribution and consumption of all beverages containing more than one percent of alcohol, including local brews such as rice wine that are popular in many parts of the sprawling Indonesian archipelago.

To become law it would have to be signed by President Joko Widodo, who has taken a hard line against drug offenders since he came into office last October.

The proposed legislation banning all alcohol consumption would exempt some locations to protect tourism such as five-star hotels and the resort island of Bali.

Indonesia, which has a population of around 250 million, has seen fast-growing sales of alcoholic drinks such as the Bintang beer brand brewed by PT Multi Bintang Indonesia Tbk, which is majority owned by Heineken.

Other drinks makers with a footprint in Indonesia include Diageo and Carlsberg.

Indonesia is the tenth-largest beer consumer in Asia and has the most Guinness stout drinkers in the region. Beer sales have climbed 54 percent over the past decade.

"Of course I don't agree with it, why would you prohibit someone's hobby to drink? So after banning drinks, what else would they ban? Smoking?" said Diponagara, a 28-year-old worker at a non-government organization in Jakarta.

However, a survey by market researcher Nielsen found that, in 2014, only 2.2 percent of Indonesians over the age of 20 had consumed alcohol in the previous 12 months.

Alcohol consumption is frowned upon by many Muslims in Indonesia and bars are sometimes attacked by vigilante groups, particularly during Ramadan.

A regulation banning the sale of alcoholic drinks at mini-markets will come into force on Thursday, although they will still be sold at supermarkets, hotels, bars and restaurants.

A complete ban would have a devastating effect on the drinks industry and distribution businesses, and put as many as 200,000 jobs at risk, Charles Poluan, executive director of the Indonesian Malt Beverage Producers Association, told Reuters.

"By next year, if it goes through this year, all the tourists won't think it fun anymore to go to Indonesia," he said. "What is ironic is that our neighbor Malaysia has sharia (Islamic) law, but they do not ban the selling of alcohol."

According to the bill, a person under the influence of alcohol will face one to five years in jail for disturbing public order or for threatening the safety of others.

Under the explanation section, the bill argues that 58 percent of criminal activities are due to the influence of alcohol, although it cited no scientific studies to back up this claim.

Alcohol is also cited in the bill for causing memory loss, dementia, Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia and other types of brain ailments.

Despite having the world’s largest Muslim population, alcoholic drinks have deep roots in Indonesian society; from the many traditional spirits and bootleg liquor to Bintang — a beer brand globally synonymous with Indonesia.

The bill, however, includes a clause enabling exemptions for certain provinces and locations for tourism purposes.

“Five-star hotels, Bali and North Sulawesi might be examples of places to be exempted,” said Arwani.

While the House has yet to invite the government to discuss the bill, it is the first of among 37 priority bills set to be passed this year that has made progress in deliberations in Baleg so far.

The Indonesian Food and Beverage Association (Gapmmi) is already aware of the deliberation and has voiced concern as it says the impact would be enormous in terms of health issues.

“There will be a proliferation of bootleg liquor production. This is more alarming as there won’t be any health and safety standards put in place. How can the government control that?” Gapmmi deputy chairman Sribugo Suratmo said.

In response to the bill, Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel claimed to have no knowledge of the deliberation.

“We should find out the thinking behind the bill,” he said. “For example, I recently imposed a regulation banning the sale of alcoholic drinks in minimarkets in order to protect our younger generation. Alcohol can damage their morality. There are already signs they no longer respect their parents.”

In the past couple of months, attempts to limit the sale of alcoholic drinks have been on the rise despite the government’s ambition to lure more foreign tourists and to reap greater income from alcoholic duties and excise.

The Trade Ministry regulation referred to by Rachmat will take effect on April 16, restricting the sale of drinks with an alcohol content of between 1 and 5 percent to supermarkets.

Rachmat argued that the negative impact of the ban on tourism would be limited. He has refused to exclude Bali from the regulation, but promised a solution for small vendors in tourist areas on the resort island.

“Malaysia and Singapore have put in place controls in the distribution of alcoholic drinks, and yet their foreign tourist arrivals are three times higher than ours,” he said.

“The [minimarket] ban will cause a decline in the sale of alcoholic drinks. But we expect companies that have invested here to be able to offset the drop by exporting their products.”

(excerpts from the bill)

- Article 8
Certain areas and businesses will be exempt from the prohibition.

- Article 12
The police along with local government officials will have the authority to supervise the production and distribution of alcohol.

- Article 17
Any person producing or distributing alcoholic drinks will face two to 10 years in prison or a fine of between
Rp 200 million (US$15,500) and Rp 1 billion.

- Article 18
Any person consuming alcoholic drinks will face three months to two years in prison or a fine of between Rp
10 million and Rp 50 million.

- Article 19
Any person under the influence of alcohol will face one to five years in prison and fines of between Rp 20
million and Rp 100 million for disturbing public order and threatening the safety of others.

- Article 21
The law will fully take effect one year after its endorsement

wikidpr team also contributed to this coverage.

Another coverage about banning alcohol bill:

1.) http://wikidpr.org/news/wikidpr-pertegas-peraturan-menteri-tentang-pembatasan-miras-baleg-dpr-percepat-bahas-ruu-lmb

2.) http://wikidpr.org/news/wsj-special-minimart-beers-for-foreigners-in-bali-alternative-option-after-ministry-decree-and-banning-alcohol-law

3.) http://wikidpr.org/news/bloomberg-jakarta-post-beer-today-gone-tomorrow-2015-priority-legislation-includes-banning-alcohol

Origin source:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/14/us-indonesia-alcohol-idUSKBN0N505K20150414

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/04/14/prison-fines-await-drinkers.html

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(Jakarta Post, Reuters) "Alcohol Emergency", Ban on Alcohol Bill give prison and fines for drinkers