Confiscation of Alcohol by the Shah Alam Municipal Council

5 August 2009
Press statement by MCA NGO Liaison Committee chairman & Central Committee member Datuk Ti Lian Ker

The act of confiscation of beers in cans and bottles by the Shah Alam City Council is an ultra vires act and ought not to be condoned by the Local Government Chairman, YB Ronnie Liu or DAP. There must be consistency of the implementation of the laws and the Local Authority cannot overrule an express provision of the law at their personal whims and fancies.

Under Federal Laws, the Excise Act allows beer in bottles and cans to be sold freely and no license is required. Only beers sold in barrels or being served are regulated by the Local Authorities. The Local Authorities cannot override the Federal Laws by confiscating beers sold in bottles or cans in any retail outlets on flimsy or racial grounds.

We cannot allow our laws or implementation thereof to be coloured by race whereby there are different set of laws based on the geography or demography of the local residents. Malaysia is a plural country and the legislations must be uniform. The Federal laws have taken into considerations the diverse culture and the plurality of the nation. No local government can disregard or infringe into the federal laws that expressly outline the rights and liberties of our plural society. It is an irony that Pakatan Rakyat government is advocating the removal of race-based political parties but implementing and colouring the federal laws with race and religion. This is an unhealthy trend, uncalled for and must be stopped.

The sundry and retail shops in Malay kampungs have been selling can and bottle beers for ages as a matter of right and as provided by Federal Laws. There should be no discrimination on Seven-Eleven or any other shops selling can and bottle drinks legally.

There is no legal provision that says that 24-hour outlets cannot sell can or bottle beer. There is no law that prohibits any such sales in a Malay majority area. However there are personal laws that forbid Muslims from purchasing these drinks. Thus enforcement should be against the Muslim wrongdoers and not on the retailers.

Is DAP or YB Lim Kit Siang going to compromise the legal rights and liberties of retail outlets to sell can and bottle beer? If PAS and PKR can just disregard the written provisions of our FEDERAL LAWS as per their whims and fancies, it means that our DAP lawmakers had sold out our legal rights and liberties once again.

DAP is not only following PAS and PKR walks but dancing to their tunes as well!!

Are the DAP talks coming to nought....?

PAS has deprived and disallowed Non-Muslims in Kelantan and Terengganu their rights during their rule. Yet they boastfully claimed and lied that beer and alcoholic drinks were allowed to be sold freely and openly under their rule.

The truth is that these outlets were treated like illegals and deemed to be unlicensed whereas they are actually at liberty to sell can and bottle beer without license. There is an unwritten price or political arm-twisting by authorities on these outlets who were legally entitled but deprived of their rights and liberties.

Imagine being treated as if you are committing a wrong when you are actually protected by the law? Where is the respect for the law? Are we being ruled Taliban styled? Is DAP or Lim Kit Siang going to uphold the law?

Is DAP going to stage a street demonstration to protest this blatant disregard and disrespect of the law by PKR and PAS?

In law we say the people have a right to sell beer in cans and bottles de jure but the peole were deprived of this right de facto....that is to say that in law, the people has the right to sell beer but in fact they were deprived of that right under PAS rule. There is always the blackmail and bribery element at play when traders are coerced to trade tainted with illegality! DAP and Lim Kit Siang must stop their double standards and selective criticism by holding steadfast onto the expressed provisions of the law instead of kowtow-ing to PAS and PKR once again.


Datuk Ti Lian Ker
MCA NGO Liaison Bureau chief