To be haram or not to be haram? The question hardly matters when you look at the huge amounts of money taken by industry and, according to AI,
- PT HM Sampoerna Tbk (majority-owned by Philip Morris International): Long ranking as one of the largest and most profitable tobacco operations in the country. [1]
- PT Djarum (owned by the Hartono brothers, Budi and Michael Hartono): Consistently ranked as the richest family in Indonesia, deriving a massive portion of their multi-billion-dollar empire and investments from the Djarum cigarette business.
- PT Gudang Garam Tbk (founded by the Wonowidjojo family): Another colossal player pulling in billions of dollars in annual revenue. [1]
I daresay they have enough lobbying power to ensure that the issue of haram is not pushed by government.