TheJakartaPost
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Your letters: Impacts of the alcohol ban
Business as usual: A vendor serves alcohol to tourists at a kiosk on Kuta Beach, Bali, on April 16
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span class="inline inline-center">Business as usual: A vendor serves alcohol to tourists at a kiosk on Kuta Beach, Bali, on April 16. Since April 16, the Trade Ministry has prohibited minimarkets and other small-scale vendors from selling drinks containing more than 5 percent alcohol. JP/Zul Trio Amggono
I am referring to an article titled 'Multi Bintang profits collapse on government alcohol ban,' (The Jakarta Post Online, May 08). Despite the faint glimmers of hope, it appears through numerous examples such as the beer ban that Indonesia leadership is incapable of getting out of its own way. The legal drinking age in Indonesia is 21. The fact that the police fail to enforce this has led to another knee jerk solution.
This, coupled with the political benefit to the hard-line religious parties, made this course of action very attractive to the polls. Of course, imposing one's morality upon a group that does not agree or want is an Indonesian tradition.
Until Indonesia decides that its citizens possess the God given right to live their life according to their own moral compass and with basic human rights and access to the rule of law to all, it will never be more than the backwater it is.
The greatness that could be had but for the minority that wants to oppress everyone and everything.
Think about this; Indonesia is a G-20 economy, ranked number 16 in the world. Its gross domestic product per person ranks 119 in the world (US$3,500/person). Fiji produces more per person.
China, the Asian Tiger and the world's second-largest economy, is 89th ($6,900). It just shows what you can do when you throw 1.4 billion people at a problem. The world's largest economy, the US, is 14th ($52,000/person) and is the first country on the list with a population of over 100 million.
HB Mccoy
Jakarta
