Retailers Demand Evaluation on Liquor Restriction

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Association of Indonesia Retailers (Aprindo) has asked the government to evaluate the Trade Minister's regulation on the limitation of the sale of alcoholic beverages. Aprindo has also demanded the government to provide them with the evaluation results.

"We asked the government to release the results showing the positive and negative impacts [of the regulation]," Aprindo Chairman Satria Hamid told Tempo last weekend.

Moreover business owners also asked the government to clarify the regional and central regulations that potentially overlap each other. Satria added that Aprindo members have been compliant with the new regulation on the limitation of the alcoholic drinks. Satria claimed that, prior to the enforcement of the regulation, regional supermarkets have been restricted from selling alcoholic drinks under the regional regulations.

Earlier, the National Anti-Liquor Movement (Genam) reported that it had found several supermarkets and hypermarkets violated the new regulation. Genam chairman Fahira Idris said that the retailers placed alcoholic drinks with other non-alcoholic products and did not ask customers to show their ID when making the purchase.

In Jakarta, the new regulation has caused Seven Eleven's turnover to decline by 10-15 percent, sales associate Robby Latuheru said on Friday, April 24, 2015. Robby explained that the declining turnover has been apparent prior to the enactment of the new regulation.

PRAGA UTAMA | LINDA HAIRANI