TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - After causing pros and cons on distribution of alcoholic beverages, the government will finally accommodate public demands and will relax regulation on the control and sale of group A alcoholic beverages.

There are about nine types of alcoholic drinks in group A circulating in Indonesia, namely shandy, alcoholic soft drinks, beer, lager, ale, stout or dark beer, low alcohol wine, carbonated alcoholic beverages, and Balinese wine brem.

"In essence, the [regulation] governs special tourist areas with local law, it will be relaxed and returned to regencies or cities that allow sales, and not in violation of existing regulation," said Director General of Domestic Trade of the Ministry of Trade Srie Agustina.

The regulation governing the sale of group A alcoholic beverages, especially in tourist areas. But with the relaxing of the regulation, later local government will have the authority to determine which areas are able to sell such as beer or similar drinks.

Srie added, with plans for the local government to decide, but several cities in West Java such as Bandung and Depok had stated that they do not need group A alcoholic beverages in their community.

The relaxation plan is included in the Economic Policy package issued by the government on September 9, 2015. In the package, the relaxation plan is in the September 2015 List of Deregulation Policy, and is planned to be in effect in the same month.

ANTARA | NZM