The popular Indonesian resort of Bali may face a draconian alcohol ban that could carry a jail sentence of up to ten years for enjoying cold beers on the beach.

A proposed bill to outlaw the production, sale, consumption and possession of alcohol has been tabled in the parliament, 700 miles away in the capital, Jakarta. If passed, it would decimate the tourism sector across the country, industry chiefs have warned.

'The tourists… drink alcohol all the time. It will be very inconvenient for them if they can't find alcohol,' said Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association head, Hariyadi Sukamdani.

The popular Indonesian resort of Bali may face a draconian alcohol ban that could carry a jail sentence of up to ten years for enjoying cold beers on the beach. This file image shows a lounge bar in Seminyak

'No matter how beautiful the country is, if they can't find alcohol, they [tourists] won't want to come here.'

A ban would be felt particularly harshly in Bali, one of Indonesia's 34 provinces, and a popular holiday destination for four million foreign tourists a year, including over 100,000 Brits.

The island's economy is dependent on these tourists, many of them young backpackers, flocking to the multiple bars and clubs to drink and party in the lively tourist towns of Kuta and Seminyak.

Australians, the largest group of holidaymakers, have already expressed disbelief that the local delicacy, Bintang beer, may soon be outlawed. Several have warned that if the new law is enforced they will simply travel elsewhere.

Bali's economy is dependent on tourists, many of them young backpackers

Kenny Baker, from Nelson Bay, New South Wales, said he had been going to Bali every year for the past 22 years but that he would not come back under an alcohol ban.

'It would not be Bali without a beer. It wouldn't be the same,' Baker told News Corp Australia. 'It is why I come to Bali, to have a beer and enjoy the beach and have a drink.'

Balinese musician Rudolf Dethu, who leads two groups opposing the legislation, one of them to promote the culinary aspects of beer, said that the law would 'kill' tourism in Bali.

Even if the island managed to secure an exemption, a ban in the rest of Indonesia would push the price of alcohol way beyond the reach of most holidaymakers, he said.

'For me this is not as simple as banning alcohol. There is a hidden agenda behind it. It's a radicalisation Balinese musician Rudolf Dethu

But Dethu also fears that the proposed ban is a sign that Indonesia is facing a creeping Islamisation that threatens to impose extreme forms of Sharia law on more liberal provinces like Bali.

The country of 260million is the world's most populous Muslim nation but it is also home to several strong religious minorities. The island of Bali is predominantly Hindu.

The secular government of President Joko Widodo is coming under increasing pressure from influential Muslim political parties to impose a strict morality code across the entire country.

'My concern has always been about pluralism and civil rights,' Dethu said.

'For me this is not as simple as banning alcohol. There is a hidden agenda behind it. It's a radicalisation,' he said.

'It's about assaulting civil rights. Don't let the parliament dictate to you what you can drink or the next time they will dictate what time your girlfriend can come to your house, and then what you can wear.'

The country of 260million is the world's most populous Muslim nation

The current bill is being driven by two influential Muslim parties, the Prosperous Justice Party and the United Development Party, who were previously successful in pushing through an anti-pornography law.

After an earlier failed attempt at pushing through an alcohol ban for religious reasons, they have now opted to argue for it on health grounds. Political analysts say their shift in tactics has increased their chances of success.

Party leaders argue that alcohol directly causes the death of dozens of people every year and that the public must be protected.

Experts point out, however, that these deaths were caused by illegally distilled or counterfeit alcohol, which can contain potentially lethal substances like methanol or even battery fluid.

According to the Center for Indonesian Policy Studies (CIPS), there have been 453 deaths from tainted alcohol since 2012.

Many were caused by illegally distilled moonshine, known as oplosan, which can often contain poisonous substances like battery fluid, mixed with headache pills to avoid a hangover.

Indonesia has also been blighted by several incidences of foreign tourists being killed by unknowingly drinking counterfeit alcohol laced with a lethal dose of methanol.

In 2013, British backpacker Cheznye Emmons, 23, first went blind, then died of organ failure after drinking poisonous methanol that had falsely been labelled as gin at a popular resort in Sumatra.

She and her boyfriend, Joe Cook, had purchased the gin in a local shop in the popular tourist site of Bukit Lawang, after they had visited an orangutan sanctuary in the jungle.

Her devastated family launched an awareness campaign to warn other unsuspecting travellers, and the British consulate in Bali has also issued public warnings.

CIPS director, Rainer Heufers, said research showed that more deaths occurred in conservative Muslim provinces that had already imposed their own state alcohol ban.

A countrywide curb would only increase the dangers by forcing alcohol production onto the black market, where it would not be regulated, and would be controlled by criminal mafia, he warned.