Rejecting Jokowi's Presidential Regulation On Alcohol, MUI Chair: Investment Results Are Not Comparable To The Nation's Damage

JAKARTA - Chairman of the Central Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) M. Cholil Nafis argued that local wisdom cannot be used as an excuse to legalize liquor (alcohol).

"It cannot be in the name of local wisdom or it has been around for a long time, so it is preserved," Cholil told reporters in Jakarta, as reported by Antara, Monday, March 1, responding to the government's policy of opening investment flows for the alcoholic liquor industry in several provinces.

"I personally refuse to invest in alcohol even though it is only localized into four provinces," he said.

Cholil believes that opening up the liquor industry will benefit a few people but will cause great harm to the future of the people.

"I think it must be repealed if you listen to the aspirations of the people because this is not profitable for the future of the people. Maybe the benefits are for investment, but the disadvantage is for the investment of the people," he said.

"Because we prohibited it from circulating, we prevented it from passing. How about legalizing it, let alone retailing on the pretext of four provinces, but, right, spread to other provinces, because the investment returns are not comparable to the damage to this nation," he said.

MUI Deputy Chairperson Anwar Abbas also criticized the government's policy to allow the liquor industry.

"This policy shows that people and this nation have been seen and positioned by the government and the business world as objects that can be exploited," he said.

He views that the government's policy to open investment flows for the alcoholic industry puts the interests of entrepreneurs ahead of the interests of the people.

"Its function as the protector of the people will certainly not give permission for businesses that will harm and damage and will create omen for the people," he said.

According to Presidential Regulation Number 10 of 2021 concerning the Investment Business Sector which was signed on February 2, 2021, the alcoholic beverage and alcoholic liquor industry is a business sector that can be cultivated by all investors who meet the requirements.

In the attachment to the presidential regulation which is a derivative rule from Law Number 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation, it is stated that new investment in the liquor industry containing alcohol and alcoholic beverages can be made in the Provinces of Bali, East Nusa Tenggara, North Sulawesi, and Papua by paying attention to local culture and wisdom.