Now Selangor MB says Oktoberfest needs cops, Customs’ nods first

(Malay Mail Online) – An Oktoberfest event in Petaling Jaya currently agitating Muslim groups has not been approved as it has yet to be sanctioned by agencies such as the police and Customs Department, Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali said today.

He said the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) will evaluate the application for the beer festival but this would depend on the organisers obtaining separate approvals from other relevant authorities.

“Not yet (approved). We have not received an approval from several agencies. Because in festivals like these we have to follow existing guidelines,” he told reporters when met at the Selangor state secretariat building here.

“The police and Customs will give an approval. After that the organisers have to abide by guidelines set by the local authorities, so they have to abide by it,” the Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman explained.

He said he did not know whether the Oktoberfest organisers have already applied for a permit to hold the event, despite the fact it is scheduled for this weekend.

“You have to ask the organiser. I am not the organiser,” said Azmin.

The Selangor MB added that the owners of a billboard promoting Oktoberfest in Shah Alam, which was put up without approval, have been slapped with a three month permit suspension.

A state official said earlier today that Selangor authorities have no reason to ban Oktoberfest beer festival if organisers fulfil the conditions necessary to hold the events.

Selangor executive councillor in charge of local government Ean Yong Hian Wah said that the Oktoberfest organisers had in previous years obtained operating permits from local authorities and they were “aware” of the stipulations in conducting such events.

“If the organisers fulfilled the same conditions, there should be no reason to not give them a permit,” Ean Yong said in a statement here.

He denied that the Selangor government had passed the buck on the matter to local city councils, or imposed additional conditions for the beer festival.

Yesterday, Ean Yong had said the onus was on local city councils to issue any approval permits for the beer festival, and that the Oktoberfest organisers could submit an application to the city council to hold the event but it would be subject to several conditions.

The DAP state lawmaker also confirmed that the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) has taken down the billboards promoting Oktoberfest as it had not been approved by the local city council.

Selangor PAS has demanded the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Selangor government to enact by-laws based on Shariah principles to stop future promotion of events where alcohol ― forbidden to Muslims ― will be present.

Several Muslim groups, including Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma), have taken aim at Oktoberfest this month, claiming the event will tarnish Malaysia’s image as an “Islamic country” and “bring ruin” to the nation.

Although the event is promoted to non-Muslims, several Muslim groups have urged their supporters to rally against the event and venues that serve alcohol as part of the festival.

The Muslim groups’ ire against Oktoberfest was raised at the sight of billboards in Shah Alam ― a majority-Malay city ― promoting the event, though the festival is scheduled this weekend at a shopping centre in Petaling Jaya, a multi-racial metropolitan city.

Oktoberfest is held annually in Malaysia with the two biggest breweries GAB and Carlsberg holding several drinking parties in major towns nationwide.

Oktoberfest was originally celebrated in Munich, Germany to accompany horse races, but has grown into “the world’s largest funfair”, attracting millions of visitors every year.