The decision by the Petaling District Alcohol License Council to ban the sale of non-medicinal forms of alcohol by Chinese medicine shops is unreasonable, unnecessary and unacceptable.
It is therefore right that DAP Selangor Exco Ean Yong Hian Wah has immediately and publicly opposed such a decision and revealed that the issue will be discussed at the next week’s Selangor state Exco meeting.
As explained by Ean Yong, the Petaling District Licensing Council is comprised of members who are all civil servants and that the decision was made without any prior knowledge, instruction or approval of the Selangor state government.
I call on the Selangor state government to direct the Council to rescind its decision.
The Petaling District Alcohol Licensing Council has come under heavy criticisms following its decision and it certainly serves the Council right.
Being civil servants, the Council members should know that they ought to follow policies of the Selangor government.
Weren’t they aware that on November 26, 2008, the then Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had, in response to Selangor PAS’s proposal to ban the sale of alcoholic beverages at sundry shops and convenience stores in the state, declared that the Selangor Exco had decided against any ban?
Weren’t they also aware that on September 2009, in response to a proposal by PAS youth to ban alcoholic sale in Muslim majority areas, PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had openly stressed that there was no alcohol ban in Selangor and that the current policy would continue as it had been approved by the Pakatan leadership.
Weren’t they aware that Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim who was present at the same event also reiterated that there was no ban on alcohol sale in Selangor but said stores could practise self-regulation at Muslim-majority areas.
So if there is any problem with non medicinal liquor sale at traditional Chinese medicine shops, the Council ought to adopt the enforcement and regulation approaches adopted by the state government.
I wish to warn MCA Deputy President Datuk Wee Ka Siong to be more responsible when commenting on the issue.
His accusation that DAP has remained silent on the issue is a lie as he knows fully well that DAP Selangor Exco Ean Yong Hian Wah has publicly and immediately made clear his opposition to the ban.
Wee’s comments that “ it is unbelievable to see Pakatan Rakyat, who vehemently opposed to the proposed ban of alcohol in Malacca, allowing the same thing to happen in a state they are governing “ were also most misleading.
Wee himself knows well that the Petaling District Licensing Council is comprised of members who are all civil servants and that the Selangor state government palyed no part in the decision.
In the Melaka case, it was Melaka state government that announced the ban and MCA has two Excos in the Melaka state government.
Surely, Wee cannot claim to not understand the difference in the Petaling District Licensing Council and the Melaka cases.