Originally posted by BAJakarta
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Basically the proposed ban doesn't concern areas where tourism is a resource nor it concerns duty free shops, five star hotels, clubs and karaoke, restaurants and shops specialized in the sale of alkohol beverages...etc. In fact, people with money won't be much affected. We will get our booze in the same place we get it so far, just at an inflated price.
The only thing that the proposed ban may achieve is to increase corruption (To sell alkohol in any of the above places you need an izin -ITMPB- issued by the local government), an increase of the price of legit alkohol (money back for the red tape and ITMPB) and a huge increase in the production of bootleg stuff because, one way or another, those who don't have the money to afford an over increasing price for safe booze, will turn to cheap poison.
When there is a market, there are entrepreneurs. In a country where many cops have a price tag and where profit on the production and sell of alkohol are high , believing that a ban will produce positive results for the health of people is at best naive.
Production of alkohol is already a closed sector for investment. Yet, in my area, I know at least 5 places producing bootleg stuff (they also wholesale brown sugar which is why I know them well). They don't really hide anyway. They just pay the "protection" required.
Now when it comes to places which retail this poison stuff it would be pointless for me to keep the count. MOST warung here sell our locally illegally produced "cap tikus". These warung also sell beer such as Bintang or Anker. Tomorrow they won't. They have started to stop anyway with most of the legit brewers having increased already twice their price in 2015 bringing the price of a bottle to a level already slightly higher than the bootleg stuff.
Today you can get a bottle of cap tikus the size of a big bottle of Bintang for Rp 20.000/Rp 25.000 in most warungs of my city. Cheaper if you know where to look or go by the jerigen. But unlike beer, it ain't less than 5% of alcohol content. More like 30% to 40%. Guess what is the most popular product?
Despite being already illegal this bootleg stuff has always been easy to get. It wouldn't take more than an hour to a fresh-off-the-boat bule to wet his lips with it.
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