Indonesia faces methanol poisoning crisis amid strict alcohol regulations, cultural stigma

The country’s limited access to legal alcohol drives many, especially young people, to seek cheap, illicit alternatives, often laced with toxic methanol

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Traditional alcoholic drinks in Indonesia are typically made by fermenting rice, sugarcane, coconuts, or palm sugar. Photo: Handout/Risyiana Muthia

Published: 10:00am, 5 Dec 2024

Indonesia’s struggle with deadly bootleg liquor, exacerbated by limited access to legal alcohol and deep cultural stigmas, has left the nation with the world’s highest recorded methanol poisoning death toll, exposing a grim public health crisis.

The Methanol Poisoning Initiative, a project by Médecins Sans Frontières and Oslo University, reports that Indonesia has recorded 329 methanol poisoning fatalities over the past two decades, making it the worst-affected country among 184 monitored.

Data from Indonesia’s statistics agency shows that as of 2022, the country’s alcohol consumption rate was just 0.33 litres per capita, much lower than the Asean average of 9.55 litres expected this year, according to statistics firm Statista.

Methanol poisoning has been in the spotlight following the recent deaths of six tourists in Vang Vieng, Laos, from consuming tainted alcohol at a local hostel, highlighting the risks of unregulated alcohol in Southeast Asia.

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However, Indonesia’s struggles with bootleg liquor are unique. As the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation, Indonesia imposes strict regulations on alcohol, making legal liquor both scarce and expensive. This scarcity pushes many, particularly young people, towards cheap, illicit alternatives or even to concoct their own home-made brews, analysts say.