Counterfeit deaths prompt Indonesia alcohol ban plan

Political groups in Indonesia are pushing for a total ban on the sale of alcohol in the wake of fatalities linked to bootleg booze.

The proposed law would introduce a blanket ban on the production, sale and consumption of alcohol across Indonesia, including holiday hot spots such as Bali which fear the crackdown will destroy the tourist trade.

Since 2010, there have been hundreds of poisoning deaths in Indonesia blamed on methanol-contaminated counterfeits, including 19-year-old Australian Liam Davies who died after drinking fake vodka at a bar on the island of Gili Trawangan in 2012.

Alcohol is a controversial issue in Indonesia, which has a Muslim majority generally opposed to consuming alcohol but a sizeable minority from other faiths. The bill is being proposed by two Muslim political parties, and has led to claims of an increasing shift to hard-line Islamism in the country, reports The Telegraph.