Bima Arya Is Not Afraid To Enforce Alcohol Prohibition Rules

Bogor Mayor Bima Arya (second from right) inspects the Holywings building (ANTARA)

BOGOR - The mayor of Bogor, West Java, Bima Arya Sugiarto, is not afraid of who is behind the Holywings business in order to enforce local regulations prohibiting the sale of liquor or alcohol beverages above five percent.

"There is no business, what is behind who, this is a matter of enforcing the rules and ensuring that everything is in accordance with the vision of the City of Bogor," Bima said when giving a press statement after checking the Hollywings building on Pajajaran Street, Baranangsiang Village, East Bogor District, Antara, Sunday, January 9th.

Bima stated that for future supervision, he will re-check the permits that have been issued, both through the Electronically Integrated Business Licensing or Online Single Submission (OSS) in the central government, as well as those under the authority of the Bogor City government.

Holywings has obtained a building permit (IMB) which has been issued by the Bogor City Government. However, Bima said, the permit is for cafe buildings in general, not for nightclubs that serve liquor.

In addition, the prohibition on selling alcoholic beverages above five percent is in the Bogor City Government. Bima conveyed two things that Holywings cafe owners must obey if they want their business to operate in this Rain City.

First, the vision of Bogor City is a family-friendly city and the character of the city is religious.

If alcoholic beverages below five percent or class A have a permit from the central government, then alcoholic beverages above are under the authority of the Bogor City Government, namely group B with an alcohol content ranging from 5-20 percent and group C is Minol with an alcohol content ranging from 20-45 percent.

Bima also claimed to have summoned Holywings owner Ivan Tanjaya on Saturday to Bogor City Hall to emphasize that the business concept in his area is not like in other cities.

Because, the results of his checking with government officials and the Head of Ops of the Bogor Police, Commissioner of Police Prasetyo Purbo, the Holywings building on Pajajaran Street, Bogor City, right in front of the East Bogor Police, still provided a place to store liquor and stage performances.

According to information on the official Holiwings website, the type of business engaged in the food and beverage sector was founded by PT Aneka Bintang Gading in 2014.

Holywings offers an attractively packaged concept of beer houses, nightclubs, and lounges. The cafe business has branches in big cities such as Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, Bandung, Semarang to Makassar. Holywings has three outlets namely Holywings Club, Holywings Bar and Holywings Rastaurant.

Bima said that Ivan had agreed to adapt his business concept according to the family-friendly vision and the religious character of the city of Bogor. "So for residents or from outside the city who want to relax and enjoy alcohol, please go to the next city, to a neighboring city, not in the city of Bogor," he said.