Two Islamic parties 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.
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.
A lawmaker for one of the parties said the bill was driven by concern for people’s health rather than any ideological motives.
“There’s no religion ideology in the proposed law because based on different religions, its priests and followers, they have different views on how it could affect the mindset of a person as there’s no law to protect them (people of other religions). Therefore, this law was proposed in the hopes of protecting the health and soul of the people of the nation,” member of Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Abdul Hakim said on Tuesday (April 14).
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.
“We will submit the bill to the government, we need at least two meetings to discuss the matter. So hopefully at the session at the end of the year it will become a law,” added Hakim.
A regulation banning the sale of alcoholic drinks at mini-markets will come into force on Thursday (April 16), although they will still be sold at supermarkets, hotels, bars and restaurants.
Sarwo, an owner of a mini-market selling alcoholic beverages said he didn’t agree with the ban.
“It’s not right. Jakarta is a major city in the world. Not all of the people don’t like them (alcoholic beverages). There are some people who like them,” said Sarwo.
Others said their sales should be regulated.
“It’s okay to produce them (alcoholic beverages), but selling them should be regulated,” said another resident, Suroto.
It was not immediately clear how much support there would be for the bill, 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.
The bill could be exempted in 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.
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.
Alcohol consumption is frowned upon by many Muslims in Indonesia and bars are sometimes attacked by vigilante groups, particularly during Ramadan.
Reuters