The Indonesian public was shocked when 13 people died after consuming bootleg liquor last May in Yogyakarta. It happened only three months after a previous incident in the same province that caused the death of 26 students. One of the victims, Sabri (39), began losing his vision after consuming the illegal alcohol and died a painful death the following day.
Sadly, his case is far from rare. According to a media survey by the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), the consumption of illegal liquor has killed 461 Indonesians and injured another 396 since 2013.
The worst case of illegal alcohol is a mix locally known as “oplosan”. Oplosan contains toxic methanol or non-food ethanol, which can be bought at the local drugstore. Adding substances, such as mosquito repellant, battery fluid and head ache pills flavors the dangerous mix. In the cases mentioned above, it lead to seizures, organ failure and death.
Oplosan is being consumed because it is inexpensive to get. In Yogyakarta, a 600 ml bottle with an alcohol content of around 40 percent can be easily purchased for 30,000 Rupiah (slightly more than $2.26 USD). Meanwhile, high excise taxes and customs tariffs push up the prices for legally produced alcohol. A 750 ml bottle of domestic Dry Gin with a similar alcohol content costs about 420,000 IDR ($31.61 USD) – that’s over ten times the price.
In addition to the taxes and tariffs that raise the price so high, the government also imposed restrictions on alcohol trade. Beer has become less accessible due to a trade ministerial ban on sales in small shops and minimarkets in 2015. Even before that, several local governments already decreed a local prohibition, either totally or partially, within their jurisdictions.
These policies were meant to reduce adverse effects of alcohol consumption but, unsurprisingly, they have had some devestating unintended consequences. According to a CIPS policy paper published in March 2016, with alcohol being so expensive and difficult to obtain, those who have no access turn to illegally produced, purchased or distributed liquor. The World Health Organisation (WHO) stated that unrecorded alcohol consumption in Indonesia (0.5 ml per capita) is five times higher than recorded alcohol consumption (0.1 ml per capita). The restrictions on alcoholic beverages have become far more hazardous than the alcohol itself.
Without a real understanding of the risks of bootleg liquor, the Indonesian parliament follows initiatives by Islamist parties. It is currently deliberating a bill to prohibit the production, sale, and consumption of all alcoholic drinks. This prohibition exempts certain places, such as tourist areas, but, if passed into law, it would amount to a total ban for ordinary Indonesians.
The bill is clearly the result of misguided morality rather than concern for Indonesians’ health or safty. The consumption of alcohol in Indonesia is very low and there are no official data about the effects of alcohol on public health, traffic accidents, or violence and crime. The Ministry of Health and National Police have both admitted the unavailability of these figures. An absence of official data makes it almost impossible to measure the size of problem in order to create an evidence-based policy.
What the national prohibition of alcohol would do is make the black market even worse. Far from drying out, the demand for alcohol will become much greater than the supply. People will take advantage of this situation by illegally producing alcohol to meet the demand – it has been proven by the deaths and injuries during recent years. The alcohol distribution will be pushed entirely underground. Out of control of the government and in the hands of criminals it will negatively affect public security.
Finally, If the bill will be passed into law, it will create an uncertain situation for the consumers. Currently, they can choose between cheap but dangerous bootleg liquor and legal drinks that are expensive but safe. A prohibition eliminates choices and makes all alcohol illegal. Under such circumstances, nobody can be trusted anymore. This is what happened in Yogyakarta, which applies a local alcohol prohibition. People there cannot access safe alcohol and shift into bootleg liquor with a high risk of methanol intoxication.
In respect of illegal alcohol’s 857 victims since 2013, the Indonesian government should rethink its prioritise and turn back towards the legal market.
Rofi Uddarojat is a researcher at the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies.
