Surabaya City Govt Questions Decision Banning Liquor Sales

Surabaya (Antara Jatim) - The Surabaya city government has written to the local legislative council (DPRD) to question the decision of its special committee for draft liquor bylaw, which banned the sale of liquor.

Chief of the Surabaya city legislative council Armuji said on Monday that deliberations about the draft bylaw faced many problems.

 The proposal to ban liquor had been considered during the term of the previous legislative council and had been rejected by the East Java governor, he said.

 He said the discussions were later continued during the term of the current legislative council.

 "The then-governor once rejected it. He ordered the revision of the draft bylaw. But why is it (liquor sales) totally banned? So, the city government has questioned it," he said.

He added that since the special committee completed the ban on Thursday (March 10), it has not conveyed the draft liquor bylaw to the consultative body to set a date for its being considered.

"Let the special committee answer it themselves. I have conveyed the letter to the special committee, but I have not received the documents from the special committee," he said.  

    

The legislative council's special committee for draft liquor bylaws has banned the sale of liquor in the East Java provincial capital.

"All locations, including discotheques, bars, hotels and other amusement centers, are banned (from selling it)," chief of the special committee Edi Rachmat said, following a meeting of commission B of the city legislative council here on March 10.

The decision was taken following heated deliberations. Some members of the committee suggested that the ban only apply to hypermarkets and supermarkets, while others insisted on banning all locations from selling liquor. (*)