T

housands of farmers joined a rally Monday at a public park in Temanggung regency, Central Java, to protest a bill on the health impacts of tobacco products.

"If it's passed, the bill will result in huge losses for tobacco farmers. We will set up a team and send it to Jakarta to express our rejection of the bill," said Wisnubrata, secretary-general of the Indonesian Tobacco Farmers Association's Temanggung branch.

Gathering from other regencies in the province, including Kendal and Magelang, as well as from Garut, West Java, the tobacco farmers also decried a recent edict by the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) that banned smoking in public places.

They expressed their anger by smoking oversized cigarettes and deeply inhaling the smoke.

Mubaroq, MUI's Temanggung chairman, claimed the edict was just a good call for people to avoid the habit.

Temanggung Regent Hasyim Affandi supported the farmers.

"Go ahead to Jakarta. I've read the bill, it doesn't accommodate the farmers' interests. But the team should bring a proposal to counter the bill," he said.

House of Representatives member Suswono, who attended the rally, said the bill had actually been proposed by an NGO.