Pakatan Rakyat not supporting PAS Youth call to ban beer

(Malay Mail) – PAS Youth says its proposal to ban the sale of beer in Muslim-majority areas in Pakatan-ruled States was only a suggestion.

“It was merely a suggestion on our part and it is something the Pakatan leadership can choose to accept or reject,” Pas Youth deputy chief Azman Shapawi Ab Rani said.

“There is no disappointment or any ill-feeling on our part if they reject it. We are only giving suggestions based on what we believe is the best policy to be implemented in Muslim-majority areas in Pakatan-ruled States.”

Yesterday, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced the rejection of the proposal by the Pakatan Rakyat leadership.

Azman Shapawi said it’s fine if they have a better suggestion but if that wasn’t the case, then they should try and see if our suggestion can be implemented.

“Our goal is merely to present ideas for the leadership to come to a decision that will be beneficial for the people,” he said.

Anwar, in response to Pas Youth’s proposal to impose a ban on selling beer in all Muslim-majority areas in Pakatan-ruled States, said that such proposals, forwarded last Saturday by Azman Shapawi, were only suggestions to be deliberated by the Pakatan leadership.

Anwar denied that Pakatan would eventually consider imposing a ban on the sale of beer in Muslim-majority areas as suggested by the Islamic party.

He said the Pakatan leadership had accepted the present policy of self-regulation by all convenience stores in predominantly Muslim areas.

Yesterday, Malay Mail reported that Pas Youth’s call for a wider ban of liquor sales wasn’t going down well, even with its own compatriots.

Selangor Local Government, Study and Research Committee chairman Ronnie Liu questioned why only the issue of liquor was brought up when there were other social ills like gambling.

Liu was also baffled by Azman Shapawi’s push for such guidelines to be imposed in Perak when the State was no longer governed by Pakatan Rakyat.

Subsequently, Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak was quoted by Bernama as saying that he was in the dark about the call by Pas Youth.

He said that he didn’t see an urgent need for this to be implemented as Kedah already had its own laws on regulating the sale of beer and alcohol.