Hippindo Values Prohibition Of Selling And Cigarette Display At The Ranperda KTR Can Press Retail Economic Turnover

The polemic of the regulation on the prohibition of the sale and use of tobacco products in the Draft Regional Regulation of Non-Smoking Areas (Ranperda KTR) of DKI Jakarta has resurfaced.

A number of retail business actors assessed that the formulation of these rules has the potential to disrupt business stability, especially in the modern trade sector.

Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Association of Indonesian Shopping Center Tenants (Hippindo), Tutum Rahanta, expressed his objection to the encouragement of a number of parties who wanted to include the ban into the new regulation.

According to him, the regulation on how to sell cigarettes has actually been strictly regulated, including the age limit for buyers.

"The provisions regarding the procedures for selling tobacco products and consumer requirements aged 21 years and over have been regulated and that is more than sufficient. We sell cigarettes as legal products that are allowed to be sold, so the emergence of new rules becomes ambiguous and confusing for us," Tutum told reporters, Thursday, December 4.

Tutum assessed that if the provisions for the ban on cigarette sales and levies were enforced, the impact would be directly felt by business actors and labor. He said that part of the economic turnover in modern retail depends on the products that consumers buy, including cigarettes.

"If the industry is threatened, then the workers will also be affected. The cycle will continue to be like that. People whose livelihoods depend on the retail industry will be affected. If the government is ready to face consequences, they must take a way out," said Tutum.

He also highlighted that the effect of policy is not only targeting modern retailers, but also traders in traditional markets. According to him, tobacco products are one of thousands of items traded daily, so policies should take into account the proportion and impact across sectors.

They considered that this figure was quite an illustration of the large contribution of the retail sector to the absorption of labor and dynamics of urban economics.

"We want justice and at least there is a compromise solution. The government needs to really consider all factors proportionally. If every policy arises just because of outside pressure, it can be dangerous," said Tutum.