Alcoholic Entrepreneurs: The Discussion On The Alcoholic Drink Bill Is Not Very Important

Ilustrasi. (Photo: Beergembira)

JAKARTA - Business circles consider that the discussion of the Draft Bill on the Prohibition of Alcoholic Drinks (Minol) is not urgent to be carried out in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic which is pressing and burdening the business world, especially because there are already effective regulations.

Chairman of the Association of Indigenous Indonesian Entrepreneurs (Hippi) DKI Jakarta Sarman Simanjorang said, so far there has been Presidential Regulation No. 74 of 2013 concerning Control and Supervision of Alcoholic Drinks and implementation in the field are considered to have been effective.

"In fact, in 2014 the Minister of Trade issued Permendag No.20 / M-DAG / PER / 4/2014 concerning Control and Supervision of the Procurement, Distribution and Sales of Alcoholic Drinks, where the sales of minol are more organized only in certain places. Thus, the urgency of the Bill is actually This is not urgent, but everything returns to the DPR, "he said as quoted by Antara, Sunday, November 15.

Sarman said the alcoholic beverage industry was also affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as beer producers as a result of operational restrictions on various hotels, restaurants, cafes and even nightlife.

"In Jakarta, it has been closed for eight months, which has caused sales to drop by 60 percent, but so far the minol industry has been able to survive and has not made layoffs (termination of employment)," he said.

He also hopes that the discussion of the bill, which was discussed five years ago but did not continue, should be carried out at the right momentum, namely after the pandemic, where the economy was already in normal condition.

"In the midst of the current economic recession pressure, it is not appropriate to discuss things related to the continuity of the business world, especially the mineral industry, let's focus together on fighting the COVID-19 epidemic and accelerating the national economic recovery," he said.

The President Commissioner of PT Delta Djakarta said that the alcoholic beverage industry is ready to provide input and points of view, including in terms of the title. Instead of being called the Bill on the Prohibition of Alcoholic Drinks, the industry is proposing that the regulation be changed to the Bill on Supervision and Control of Alcoholic Drinks.

According to Sarman, the involvement of the mineralol industry in the national economy has almost reached a century and involves foreign investors.

The contribution of the mineral industry in terms of tax and alcohol excise, which reaches IDR 6 trillion per year with employment reaching 5,000 people plus supporting industries such as agriculture, logistics, packaging industry, distribution and trade services, entertainment services, recreation, tourism and culture.

"We really support if this mineral is regulated and supervised so that education and information to the public is always consistently implemented regarding the dangers of alcoholic drink abuse. If later in this bill the impression is prohibiting, it is feared that there will be the practice of entering contraband that does not pay taxes, the prevalence of counterfeit minol not in accordance with food standards and the rise of mixed drinks which endanger consumers, "said Sarman.