JAKARTA — Indonesia yesterday officially banned the sale of alcoholic beverages in convenience stores and other small shops, but senior officials in the capital are already expressing fears that the nationwide regulation could hurt tourism.

“We will comply and we will follow the rules,” Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said yesterday as the Trade Ministry’s regulation took effect. But Mr Basuki said he was concerned that the ban could encourage the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages in the city.

The city’s Deputy Governor, Djarot Saiful Hidayat, also said he was hoping the ban would not scare away foreigners. “We can’t let (the ban) kill our tourism industry — beer and other alcoholic drinks are not taboo for foreigners,” Mr Djarot said.

The Trade Ministry revoked the licence of tens of thousands of convenience stores and small shops to sell alcohol. Only restaurants, hotels and large retailers are allowed to sell beer, wines, spirits and similar beverages. The ministry has justified the ban on health and moral grounds, as concerns grow that underage drinking is being fuelled by alcohol’s wide availability in local neighbourhoods.

Early this week, two Islamic parties also proposed legislation that would ban all consumption of alcoholic drinks and bring jail terms of up to two years for offenders.

Although it was not immediately clear how much support there would be for the bill at the House of Representatives, a lawmaker for one of the parties said it could become law as early as the end of this year, and that it was driven by concern for people’s health rather than any ideological motives.

“This is not a religious or ideological issue,” Mr Abdul Hakim of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) told Reuters. “This is purely for the protection of the children of the nation.”

Some areas in Indonesia, such as Aceh, already ban alcohol consumption, but this is based on regional by-laws, not national regulations.

Lawmaker Fahira Idris, the founder of the National Anti-Alcohol Movement and a leading proponent of yesterday’s measure, likened alcohol to a “machine killing our youth”. “Our volunteers often see minors buying alcohol with ease in mini-markets,” she told AFP.

Ms Neneng Sri Mulyati, a spokeswoman for minimart chain 7-Eleven, said her company would comply with the regulation, and alcoholic beverages will no longer be sold in any of its 172 stores across Jakarta, she stressed.