Indonesia parties propose prohibition bill

Two political parties have proposed legislation to ban consumption of alcohol in Indonesia and introduce jail terms of up to two years for offenders.

Two political parties have proposed a ban on alcohol consumption in Indonesia

As reported by The Jakarta Post, the bill – put forward to by two Islamic parties – would impose a blanket ban on all alcoholic beverages with an abv above 1%.

Lawmakers approved the bill’s progression on Monday during a meeting in the House Legislation Body (Baleg), and will now analyse the bill to make sure clauses do not infringe upon existing laws.

“Under the bill, consuming alcoholic beverages could land a person in jail as it will be treated similarly to drug trafficking,” commented Baleg member Muhammed Arwani Thomafi of the National Development Party (PPP).

Thomafi continued to explain the bill was not focused on complying with religious customs, even though Muslim-based parties the PPP and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) put the bill forward.

“The health issue is equally important,” added Arwani. “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.”

The proposed legislation would exempt certain locations in order to protect tourism, such as five-star hotels and the resort island of Bali.

In 2014, market researcher Nielsen conducted a survey that showed only 2.2% of Indonesians over 20-years-old had consumed alcohol in the previous 12 months.

In addition, a separate piece of legislation will come into effect on Thursday prohibiting the sale of alcohol at mini-markets throughout the country.

In other news, earlier this month the Kerala High Court upheld the government’s decision to ban alcohol in india’s largest alcohol-consuming state, resulting in the immediate closure of around 300 bars.