Jokowi's Presidential Regulation On Alcohol Investment: Medium Foreign Exchange, Great Damage

Illustration (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the National Mandate Party faction of the DPR RI, Saleh Partaonan Daulay, said that Presidential Regulation No. 10/2021 will trigger the rise of mixed, illegal, and counterfeit alcohol.

There are concerns that adulterated, illegal, and fake liquor will circulate outside the provinces permitted in the Presidential Regulation.

"This happens very often. The police and National Agency of Drug And Food Control (BPOM) have frequently arrested the perpetrators," said Daulay as quoted by Antara, Sunday, February 28.

He said the majority of Indonesians refuse alcohol. The reason is, it is feared that alcohol can trigger criminal acts. Alcohol drinkers often commit crimes beyond their subconscious.

"I suspect that the foreign exchange will be insignificant, but the damage is large. This is quite a threat to the millennial generation, whose number is very large today," he said.

Meanwhile, Deputy Head of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), Anwar Abbas, said that regulations that allow the liquor industry can trigger exploitation.

"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," said Anwar when contacted from Jakarta, as reported by Antara, Sunday, February 28.

He said the rules that made the alcohol industry an open business would be detrimental to society.

The regulation, he said, would make the distribution of alcohol more open.

Likewise, the Deputy Head of MUI, Anwar Abbas, said that the alcohol regulation seems to prioritize the considerations and interests of entrepreneurs rather than those 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 congestion for the people," he said.

Previously, President Joko Widodo issued Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 10 of 2021 concerning the Investment Business Sector. This regulation regulates the investment of alcoholic liquor in a number of provinces. Among others, the Provinces of Bali, East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), North Sulawesi, and Papua with due observance of local culture and wisdom.