News
Yogyakarta Sultan Calls for Tighter Regulations on Alcohol Sales
News Desk (The Jakarta Post) November 1, 2024
Yogyakarta governor and Sultan Hamengkubuwono X speaks before hundreds of traders during an event at the Beringharjo Market in Yogyakarta. (The Jakarta Post/Bambang Muryanto)
Yogyakarta Governor Sultan Hamengku Buwono X has called for the drafting of stricter regulations to curb the sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages in response to a massive rally earlier this week in Yogyakarta which called for the jailing of suspects in an alcohol-fueled rampage.
Hamengku Buwono said that the sale of alcoholic drinks in Yogyakarta, including online, has gotten out of control and has created serious problems in the local community.
"Regents and mayors have the authority to issue a new regulation. Existing regulations have been out of date as they don't concern online sales. I don't want to see that because we don't have regulations to deal with online sales of alcoholic drinks, our children become the victims," the Governor said in a statement.
Earlier this week, members of Muslim organizations in Yogyakarta, including the country's second largest Islamic organization Muhammadiyah took to the streets to call for the prosecution of suspects who were alleged to have stabbed two students of an Islamic boarding school in Yogyakarta's southern district of Bantul.
The two students were enrolled at Yogyakarta's historic Al-Munawwir boarding school in Krapyak, Bantul.
Police have arrested seven suspects who were alleged to have committed the violent act under the influence of alcohol.
The protesters also demanded that the local government curb the illegal distribution and sale of alcoholic drinks in Yogyakarta, which they claim have caused an emergency.
Source: www.thejakartapost.com