The Draft Law (RUU) on the prohibition of alcoholic drinks has recently become a hot topic in Indonesia. The bill, that was initiated by the House of Representatives (DPR) and entered into the 2020-2024 national legislation program (Prolegnas), will prohibit the production, distribution, and consumption of all types of alcoholic drinks.
Although the name of the bill is “prohibited” in the draft, there are exceptions. There are certain places and certain activities that would not be subject to restrictions which would be regulated by the proposed law.
From the documents circulating, this bill explicitly regulates that everyone is prohibited from producing, importing, storing, distributing, and/or selling, and consuming alcoholic drinks of all kinds. The groups range from light categories such as beer and wine as well as hard spirits.
In the draft bill which includes seven chapters and 24 articles, some of them regulate the exemption of prohibitions. The prohibition does not apply to a limited range of activities, including customary interests, religious rituals, tourists, pharmaceuticals, as well as places permitted by statutory regulations.
The places permitted by the statutory regulation would “include duty-free shops, five-star hotels, restaurants with a badge, bars, pubs, nightclubs, and speciality shops selling alcoholic drinks.”
This bill has the following objectives:
- Protecting the community from the negative impacts caused by alcoholic drinks.
- Raising public awareness about the dangers of alcoholic drinks.
- Creating order and peace in the community from the disturbances caused by drinking alcoholic drinks.
“Drinking alcohol is considered to be a factor that triggers high crime rates in several regions in Indonesia, where 58 percent of cases occur due to drunkenness or the influence of alcoholic drinks. This condition often triggers fights, disrupts public order, loses a sense of security, and damages social order. in society,” explained the bill, as quoted by CNBC Indonesia
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The consideration of this bill is said to be made so that every citizen has the right to a good and healthy living environment, to be physically and mentally prosperous, which is a human right guaranteed to be fulfilled by the state to protect the lives of all Indonesians based on the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. In addition, it is believed to be necessary to prohibit alcoholic drinks so that the quality of health, order, peace, and safety of the community is maintained.