DPR Says Alcohol Prohibition Bill To Exclude Use For Medical, Religious, And Customary

Member of the Working Committee on the Draft Law on the Prohibition of Alcoholic Drinks, Bukhori Yusuf (Photo: Jaka/Man)

JAKARTA - Member of the Working Committee on the Draft Law on the Prohibition of Alcoholic Drinks (Minol) from the Legislative Body of the DPR RI, Bukhori Yusuf, emphasized that there are provisions for the exclusion of alcohol use for medical purposes, religious ceremonies, and customs, especially religious ceremonies.

However, basically, according to Bukhori, alcohol is a dangerous drink when consumed outside the limit, so it needs a strict ban.

"In the case that it is used for certain purposes, such as anesthesia, treatment, and so on, for certain religious traditional events, it can still be understood and it can be excluded. However, this bill if its content is not explicitly prohibited, will be harmful to our generation's children," said Bukhori as quoted from the Parliamentary, Wednesday 9 March.

The member of the PKS faction of the DPR RI emphasized that even before this bill was passed into law, several regions, such as the Papua Province and Manokwari Regency, already had regional regulations regarding the Minol. Namely, Regional Regulation Number 22 of 2016 concerning the Prohibition of Production, Distribution, and Sales of Alcoholic Drinks in Papua Province; as well as the Manokwari Regency Regional Regulation concerning the Prohibition of Importation, Storage, Distribution, and Sales and Production of Alcoholic Beverages.

"This means that it shows how real it is if we want to capture Papua, which is a representation of an area that is not as heterogeneous as Jakarta, but can still apply (the rule regarding the Minol ban)," added the member of Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives.

In addition, he also responded to the use of alcohol in the form of fermented drinks, such as palm wine, arak, and brem, both for Hindu religious ceremonies and/or the economy of the people in Bali. He also ensured that the Alcohol Prohibition Bill would not interfere with these activities.

In fact, he explained, the existence of this bill further protects the economic activities of the Balinese people from illegal or adulterated liquor that is not authorized by the government.

"For example, regarding the marketing of local liquor or arak, it can't be used anywhere, it must be licensed, for example, hotels must be five-star. So, the users must be people who are aware of their use so that they are not dangerous," added the legislator for the Central Java I electoral district.

However, he also acknowledged that the main obstacle to the discussion of the bill, which was proposed from the 2009-2014 DPR RI period, was still stuck on the title. Because, according to him, the word "Prohibition" is considered too strict, it worries many parties. "But I think the law must have certainty and cannot be gray, it must be black and white," concluded Bukhori.