Ban on liquor sale has not been lifted - DBKL
SINAR DAILY REPORTER04 Dec 2023 10:12pm
Picture for illustrative purposes - FILE PIX
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DBKL said a Nov 23 statement that its excise licensing board had revoked the ban is not true.
“The sale of liquor at grocery and convenience stores as well as Chinese medicine shops is still subject to the guidelines that have been set.
“The board, which convened on Nov 23, had only approved 1,519 applications for the renewal of various wholesale, public housing and retail licences. No new retail licences were approved,” it said in a statement today.
Under the ban, which took effect in November 2021, the sale of hard liquor or distilled spirits was barred at these premises.
The ban was reportedly lifted last week following the appointment of new committee members to the board. It also reportedly approved 1,519 applications for liquor licences.
Federal territories Pas Youth information chief Abdul Razak Ramli had voiced objections against the reported lifting of the ban, saying it was “regrettable and disappointing” as it would lead to more social problems.
However DAP’s Kasthuri Patto, a member of the excise licensing board, urged Razak to focus on more important issues and to learn to respect differences of cultures and beliefs.
In a report by a local daily, the board’s vice-chairman, Pooi Weng Keong, said the new committee did not view the sale of alcohol at these stores as an issue.
The report had stated that the committee would meet again on Dec 20 to review new applications for liquor licences.
