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mid controversy, the Surabaya City Council has passed a draft bylaw on the control of alcoholic beverage distribution.

Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini, or Risma, said with the approval of the ordinance, it was expected that the bylaw would be effective in protecting youths from the dangers of mixed liquor.

'€œThe bylaw will serve as a control on the distribution of alcoholic drinks. I'€™m also ready to pull alcoholic drinks from the shelves. We will deploy public order [Satpol PP] officers to do so,'€ Risma told reporters on Monday.

The councilors passed the draft law on the control of alcoholic drinks distribution into law.

Article 23 of the bylaw stipulates administrative sanctions, sale bans, licensing procedures and labeling for alcoholic drink producers wishing to distribute alcohol across the city.

The distribution of hard liquor in Surabaya must obtain labels from the city administration. The labeling applies to all types of liquor and is effective for all categories, such as Category A (from 0-5 percent alcohol content), Category B (from 5-20 percent) and Category C (from 20- 25 percent).

Apart from the label issue, alcohol will also be banned from supermarkets and convenience stores, such as Indomart, Alfamart and Circle K.

Surabaya City Council vice speaker Ahmad Suyanto said the bylaw would have many benefits for society. Alcohol sellers will have a period of a month to meet the requirements set forth in the ordinance.

The distribution of alcohol in Surabaya is regulated in bylaw No. 1/2010 on trade and industry. The bylaw has often been used by the police to uncover the illegal sale of alcohol in the city.

'€œAlthough methanol has claimed the lives of many people, we'€™ve found this does not have a deterrent effect. We will continue to conduct patrols to curb the distribution of methanol,'€ said Surabaya City Police chief spokesman Comr. Suparti after a raid on methanol sellers on Jl. Gubeng Kertajaya in Surabaya recently.

The coordinator of the East Java chapter of the Drugs and Addictive Substance Abuse Victim Network, Rudhy Wehasmara, said the new bylaw on alcohol addressed moral issues, but it was aimed at raising provincial revenue from tax.

'€œThis is very regretful, especially as the alcohol bylaw in Surabaya has no correlation with government efforts to curb methanol, which has claimed lives,'€ said Rudhy.

He added the government also had to educate society about alcohol because people'€™s awareness on alcohol remained low.