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strong>Sept. 7, p8

Several articles have been written about this topic already and it has been a very hot discussion topic among The Jakarta Post readers in the last few days.

A lot of arguments have been brought up by both sides, but it seems that nobody, neither the government nor the public, is thinking about the so-called Third Alternative.

The Islamic parties who introduced the proposal have a clear interest in upholding Islamic rules among the Muslim population. There is nothing wrong with this.

Your comments:

Frankly, the idea of banning alcohol is an insult to Muslims, as it assumes Muslims have no self control. Wrong. Good Muslims are always strong enough to avoid alcohol. The same idea being true for Catholics who see contraceptives openly on sale while it is forbidden in their religion. Banning things makes people weaker, not stronger.

Dede S.

The ban on drinks in Pakistan is just as fake as it would be here for those with money. In Pakistan, many rich or even middle class people drink spirits, while at the same time preach piety and abstinence to the poor. When I receive a family from Karachi, they often arrive loaded with duty free alcohol.

The ban in Pakistan also resulted in a massive spike in recreational drug use, especially among students and poor people.

I do not have a solution, nor will I make any judgments, but any ban will just lead to an enlarged black market, more dangerous alcohol being made locally and an increase in drug use.

But I suppose politicians can maintain their extra paychecks from Jeddah, just like the ones in Pakistan do.

Mohin Ali

In the current proposal, the rich are taken care of already, since five-star hotels would be excluded from the proposed ban. Actually, it is quite weird to see favoritism such as this so openly endorsed by an Islamic party, but at least now we know where they will go to drink.

SS

In Karachi, we have another issue that has resonance here, and that is the issue of pre-marital and homosexual sex. Homosexuality is actually very common among men, even after they are forced to marry under family pressure.

Society basically turns a blind eye so long as the man is married and produces children.

MA

I disagree entirely with this suggestion. If alcohol is only sold through Government controlled outlets, does that mean that the Government will start owning bars and nightclubs, or that all bars and nightclubs will be shut down? What about restaurants that sell alcohol? Should Indonesia become as socially boring and fanatical as Pakistan?

Ted'€™s suggestion would mean that you could only ever drink alcohol in the privacy of your own home.

Second, Ted states that '€œall Muslims'€ would be happy with this plan. Personally, I know many Muslims who like to drink, go to clubs and bars and live their life freely and enjoy all of its pleasures. They would not be at all happy with this plan.

Whether or not they choose to follow the rules of Islam should be their own personal choice, not forced upon them just because '€œMuslim'€ is written on their ID card.

Why is it so hard for some people to just live their lives they way they see fit and leave other adults to live their lives the way they see fit?

Melvin

You'€™re making the assumption that banning things actually works.

Nate

Maybe that is the whole idea of these Islamic parties: prevent Muslims from partying and drinking. This is part of the supremacist idea that Islam should control every aspect of Muslim'€™s life. The solution is simple, if such a law were to be in place, all those KTP Muslims (if they drink and party they cannot be considered real Muslims) can change their religion and be free.

It would clean up those misleading official statistics about how many Muslims live in this country.

If a dog keeps barking, you can shut it up by giving it a bone to chew on. In this case, such a compromise could be the bone to shut up these barking Islamic parties.

Smart S.