Whenever overzealous conservative politicians try to tighten regulations on or even ban alcohol in Indonesia, those who dare to criticize their plans for prohibition always cite the negative impact it might have on tourism. As Chief Economics Minister Sofyan Djalil once said, “We must not let the regulation be excessive because it could kill tourism potential. For some people from the West, alcohol is a part of their lifestyle.”
It’s like no politician can admit that there are actually some Indonesians who like to drink alcohol, too. Quite a few of them in fact, from our experience at least. Although one 2014 survey said only 2.2% of Indonesians had imbibed alcohol in the last year, we suspect the reason that number was so low is because a lot of Indonesians simply lied, too embarrassed to admit their ‘sinful’ habit – even on an anonymous survey.
In her latest video, Indonesian Youtube star Sacha Stevenson (of “How to Act Indonesian” fame) shows that the taboo surrounding alcohol is why we will probably never seen a commercial for beer in Indonesia. It features a dead-on parody of a western beer commercial with a uniquely Indonesian twist at the end.
