F

acing fierce public criticism, the House of Representatives decided on Tuesday to drop articles endorsing kretek (clove cigarettes) in the current culture bill legislation.

Antitobacco campaigners have lambasted new provisions in a culture bill recognizing kretek as a part of national cultural heritage and obliging the government to safeguard their existence.

Article 37 of the draft law, for instance, stipulated that the state acknowledge, appreciate and protect kretek as part of cultural heritage, while Article 49 ordained support through the inventory, documentation, facility development and promotion via festivals of the cigarettes.

House Commission X overseeing education, youth affairs, sports, tourism, art and culture made the decision after giving political parties two weeks to discuss the new provisions in the bill.

'€œAn internal meeting of Commission X, which was attended by all factions, agreed to eliminate the cigarette provisions in the culture bill. So the bill, which was proposed by the House, no longer contains '€˜traditional clove cigarettes'€™, said Commission X chairman Teuku Riefky Harsya as quoted by kompas.com.

The government is working to curb tobacco consumption, with the number of smokers standing at around a quarter of the country'€™s population. The latest effort involves a plan to raise cigarette duties, with the funds to be channeled directly to the national health insurance (JKN) program.