KUCHING, Nov 24: Expanding the ban on sale of liquor to other states including Sarawak is deemed as uncivilised and contradicting the spirit of Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), political secretary to Chief Minister Tan Kai opines.
“I am strongly against such uncivilized policy as mentioned by Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Ahmad Marzuk Shaary, especially in Sarawak. This is also contradicting with MA63 spirits. All of our ethnic groups regardless of race and religion live in tolerance, understanding and mutual respect among each other.
“Sarawak has its own autonomy on our local government decrees, thus, I believe that Sarawak government will not apply such uncivilised federal policy here,” Tan Kai said in a statement today.
On Nov 21, Ahmad Marzuk said the federal government (Perikatan National) has not ruled out the possibility of the ban on the sale of liquor at sundry and grocery shops, convenience stores as well as Chinese medicine shops in the Federal Territories be expanded to other states.
Instead, Tan Kai believed that self-disciplined drinking and strict enforcement is the key to tackle drink-driving issues.
He pointed that while Malaysia is a secular state and other Islamic countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates allow sales of liquor, then it will be a joke for others because of Malaysia’s policy to ban liquor here.
“Covid-19 pandemic has affected a lot of businesses, we don’t need such unnecessary policy to add more burden on them.
“Furthermore, most businesses comply with the requirement for not selling any liquor or beer to those below 18 years old,” Tan Kai added. — DayakDaily
