Soon enough, we won’t be able to buy a cool bottle of beer from the nearest minimarket. But is this a sign of things to come regarding a wider alcohol prohibition in Jakarta? Well, at least the leader of the city is against such an idea.
Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama said a total alcohol prohibition is a dangerous idea because it would allow for alcohol being sold in the black market.
“There is a suggestion that there should be no alcohol at all, but we must discuss this further and refer to history and data, because with a prohibition black markets can emerge,” Ahok said at City Hall today, as quoted by Republika.
“A black market is more dangerous because then we won’t be able to regulate [alcohol producing] factories.”
Ahok said that it would be better to regulate who can buy alcohol to avoid its abuse.
“If we limited it to people aged 21 and up then we know who’s buying alcohol and that would automatically reduce the number of [alcohol-related] crimes,” he said.
“If this policy is enacted in Indonesia then all factories must close which would lead to the spread of illegally smuggled alcohol from overseas.”
