Stop Circulating 'Es Moni' Liquor So It Doesn't Go Viral

Photo by Dino Januarsa on Unsplash

JAKARTA - Commission IX of the House of Representatives asked the Government and the authorities to aggressively conduct raids on the rampant circulation of adulterated liquor in Demak, Central Java (Central Java), which is labeled "Es Moni". This follows the growing mode of selling Moni Es, which has raised concerns in terms of health, especially for teenagers.

"We are concerned about the rampant circulation of 'Es Moni' which is mixed liquor because now the sales mode is increasing. The government and the authorities must increase raid operations and supervision," said Member of Commission IX of the House of Representatives Arzeti Bilbina, Friday, September 20.

Moni ice is known to be made from the basic ingredients of traditional wine and mixed with milk and factory sachet-energied drinks, then packaged to resemble jumbo tea ice so that according to Satpol PP it is quite a loss for young people because the taste is considered delicious and refreshing. Moreover, the price is very cheap, in the range of Rp. 8-10 thousand per cup.

Previously, Es Moni was sold at night entertainment venues and stalls, now many of the adulterated liquor is also found in angkringan-angkringan. Arzeti also supports control by the Satpol PP.

"Of course this massive raid must be optimized with firm law enforcement. We support the actions of officers who will forcibly close stalls and process the seller's law if they are still ngeyel selling Es Moni," he said.

In the last 2 months, it was known that the Demak Satpol PP managed to secure thousands of alcohol and hundreds of bottles of wine used for Moni ice mixtures. Officers have recently found that Moni ice is sold in angkringan stalls which are usually visited by people in Central Java.

Arzeti emphasized the importance of supervision and law enforcement so that the Moni Ice trend does not proliferate to other regions. For this reason, controlling and enforcing the law must be a priority.

"The circulation of mixed liquor such as Moni Ice must be stopped so that it does not become more widespread and proliferates to other areas. Cross-agency cooperation can be effective in eliminating these illegal products from the market," said Arzeti.

The member of the House of Representatives Commission in charge of health affairs also asked the Government, especially the Regional Government (Pemda) to intensify socialization and education to the public about the dangers of Moni Ice for health. Arzeti said socialization could use various facilities, including social media platforms that are widely used by the younger generation.

"The alcohol content in the wine is definitely very dangerous for health. Moreover, it is mixed with other ingredients that we do not know the safety of. Not to mention that alcoholic beverages also have social and security impacts," he explained.

Arzeti added that the government must be detailed in providing education to the public about the dangers of consuming adulterated alcoholic beverages. In addition to disturbing digestion, liquor can damage the body's organs.

"This kind of information must be socialized to the public so that they understand the impact of consuming adulterated liquor," said Arzeti.

Arzeti also highlighted the easy access to Moni Ice obtained by the public and was worried about its social impacts, especially for young people.

"Because teenagers tend to be curious and are in a period of finding their identity so that they are easily influenced by trends. So it is very important that access to the circulation of adulterated alcohol is stopped," said the legislator from the East Java I electoral district.

"Moreover, it feels considered delicious and varied, I am very worried that these small children who do not know the content of Moni Ice will also buy it. Supervision of parents here is the key," continued Arzeti.

In addition to the role of parents, Arzeti assessed that the Government can cooperate with community leaders or religious leaders to strengthen socialization about the dangers of Es Moni.

"Usually, the public listens more to calls from figures, especially the figures they like. The government can involve well-known community leaders to eradicate the Moni Ice trend," he said.