Yuli Tri Suwarni, Bandung, West Java – The Bandung municipal administration has said that it will stick to its alcohol bylaw and continue to carry out inspections on roadside stores and minimarkets, despite the government recently urging that bylaws on alcohol bans be revised.

The city's Industry and Trade chief, Ema Sumarna, said the administration would carry out inspections on at least 515 supermarkets, minimarkets and stores to ensure no alcoholic drinks were sold openly.

The policy, she said, was based on a 2010 bylaw and a 2011 municipal decree, both of which stipulated that alcoholic drinks could be sold only at licensed three- and four-star hotels, discothhques, karaoke halls and night clubs.

"Supermarkets, minimarkets, shops and jamu kiosks are no longer allowed to sell them [alcoholic drinks]. If we find them, they will be confiscated," she said in Bandung on Friday.

Bandung Police Public Order Unit chief Ferdi Ligaswara said his men were ready to support the administration's alcohol inspection operation, although he was aware of the Home Ministry's call for a revision on the alcohol bylaw.

"Even though the Home Minister ordered a revision, the reality is that it [the bylaw] has been ratified and it is in the interest of the public that alcoholic drinks are not sold openly," he said.

The Home Ministry recently requested that bylaws on alcoholic drinks be revised as they might contradict a presidential decree of 1997. The decree specifies the alcohol content of drinks that should be monitored, but does not order for the localization of their sales. (awd)