The House of representatives is deliberating a bill banning alcohol. But concerns have been raised, and many believe that the move would be against-productive.
A long ban bill proposed on alcohol has returned to the House of Representatives after a brutal gang rape and murder of 14-year-old schoolgirl in Bengkulu. The fact that rapists have used palm wine galvanized the anti-alcohol activists in the archipelago to push the bill on the agenda of the government. The bill is controversial at best, and many wonder if the ban would be the way to go. Supporters say the country with cultural problem of sexual violence can be more precisely linked to poor education about what rape is really combined with legal consequences obviously warmer country.
In addition, when you receive the idea that alcohol prohibition could bring to the nation, a handful of politicians believe, "when one door closes, another opens."
The alcohol ban bill in question was originally proposed last year by two political parties - the United Development Party and the Party of Prosperous Justice - to protect the population against the negative health effects of alcohol. Fahira Idris, president of the anti-alcohol National Movement ( Gerakan Nasional Anti Miras ) and a member of the House of Regional Representatives, explains the repeated involvement of alcohol in criminal cases committed by juveniles is a sure sign that youth of Indonesia is in danger. She tells Indonesia Expat
"Almost every day we hear reports of crime due to alcohol, including murder, rape, theft, and riots. Many of our children lose their future because of alcohol. We need regulation at constitution strictly prohibits alcohol throughout Indonesia. [The volume of] data related to alcohol, facts and tragic events show us that alcohol is undeniably a source of disaster. "
According to Idris, the research conducted by Gerakan Nasional Anti Miras in collaboration with the University of Central Indonesia criminology studies found that 34.9 percent of children who committed a murder in Indonesia drank the liquor before or during the act. The study also says that the easy access to alcohol is another key factor. Idris added that the number of young people who consume alcohol is on the rise in general. She said 4.9 percent of young people drinking in 2007, a number that rose to 23 percent in 2014. "This is a danger," said Idris.
The government has taken steps to address the problem. Indonesia already has a regulation that supervise and control the production, distribution and consumption of certain products. Alcohol is prominently one of them. Some cities, like the capital of East Java Surabaya, even impose a . ban on alcohol sales. Last year, the government started banning beer in mini-markets across the country. However, people like Idris believe that these actions are not enough.
"The statutes are definitely not enough. About 514 districts and cities in Indonesia, there are only about 20 districts or cities that have alcohol or anti-alcohol regulations," said Idris. "The rest does not have clear regulations on the production, distribution and consumption of alcohol So imagine;. Most regions in Indonesia do not have clear rules on alcohol, while alcohol is a source of social problems. a law on the prohibition of alcoholic beverages means that regulation would be applied nationally and must be respected by all throughout Indonesia. "
The bill to ban the production, storage, distribution and consumption of alcohol, with exceptions for cultural, religious, for tourism, and pharmaceuticals. This important distinction is covered in Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the document. Meanwhile, there are three types of alcoholic beverages are prohibited in the bill; they are Type A (1-alcohol percent to 5 percent), Type B (5 percent to 10 percent) and Type C (20 percent to 45 percent). The proposed penalties range from three months to ten years in prison and a fine of Rp.20 million (US $ 1,489) and rp.1 billion (US $ 74,474).
However, like many other bills in the House of Representatives, it is controversial. Unlike Idris Rofi Uddarojat researcher at the Centre for Policy Studies Indonesia argues that a draft law to ban alcohol are not the right decision. He explained that the real problem that the government should look - over alcohol - is illegal, smuggling and fake alcohol. Not only a problem for businesses, moonshine is dangerous, said Uddarojat.
In February, moonshine, also known as miras oplosan '(alcohol mixed with dangerous substances such as methanol, sleeping pills, anti-mosquito, and more ) killed 24 people in Jogjakarta. A similar case also occurred in early May. In ., miras oplosan has affected about 823 people in Indonesia since 2013, of which about half have died. Miras oplosan is usually sold illegally throughout the archipelago. Not only is there a cheaper way to get drunk, it's also easy to get, with alcohol difference licensed, which is limited in distribution. Ironically, Indonesians consume 0.6 liters of alcohol per capita and 0.5 liters of them are illegal, according to the World Health Organization. The twist, according Uddarojat, is a proposed alcohol ban law would probably increase this.
"In some of our studies, we found that in fact there is a very strong correlation between miras oplosan and prohibition. The data show that most victims are miras oplosan districts or of cities that are restricted work or . alcohol ban. of the 30 districts or cities of Java where victims are 83.4 percent of victims live in 23 counties or cities that implement these regulations, "said Uddarojat in an interview with Indonesia Expat .
he said that "the ban would force the company to alcohol in Indonesia to become an illegal black market, which would increase further alcohol consumption is dangerous house. "
He added, "With the ban as covered in the bill, miras oplosan, which killed hundreds of people, will be even more widespread and more difficult to control by the government. The lower class will be "forced" to consume miras oplosan. According to the bill, as an exception, alcohol can be used for tourism purposes. Essentially, this means that the rich are "allowed" to eat the alcohol if the bill is adopted. "
Instead of banning alcohol, Uddarojat suggests that the emphasis placed by the government on strengthening its supervision efforts. One way to do this is to apply a strictly legal drinking age in Indonesia, making it illegal for people under 21 to drink or buy alcohol. Allowing consumers easy access to the legal alcohol, the government could also downgrade the purchasing preferences of homebrew dangerous for Safer minds.
In addition to the possibility of a black market and the likely increase miras oplosan sales, Bill has also led to other, more subtle, speculation. Some say the bill could be used as a tool for corruption, as the case may be made that there is a hidden political agenda behind Bill himself. Others believe that the word "ban" should be removed from the name of the bill, in order not to mislead the public about its content. Currently, the bill is deliberated by the House of Representatives, and should be decided later this month.