KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — The Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) ruling barring Muslims from working in outlets selling alcohol will only affect nightclubs and pubs, while restaurants and hotels will not be affected.
In justifying the council’s ruling, which has caused a furore within the Selangor government, MPSJ councillor Roslan Shahir Mohd Shahir said today the limits of the ruling were “crystal clear”.
Roslan went through great pains to state that restaurants, hotels and convenience stores will not be subjected to the ruling.
“I chaired the sub-committee meeting in passing this enactment back in June 2009. These guidelines, ruling will only affect entertainment outlets — pubs, nightclubs and karaoke bars. It will not affect restaurants, hotels or even 7-Eleven stores,” Roslan told The Malaysian Insider.
“We are merely including these guidelines as part of local council by-laws... without these guidelines Jais (Selangor Islamic Religious Department) can still take action,” he said.
Roslan, who is chairman of the MPSJ sub-committee on licensing, said the ruling had been in place since January 1, 2010, refuting reports that it was only enforced last Monday.
“The guidelines have been there since January 1, 2010. I do not know why there are complaints now… so far we have also not revoked any licences from any outlets yet,” he said.
Asked to comment on state executive councillor Ronnie Liu’s remarks that the “entire” state executive council was against the ruling, Roslan said he had not received any notice of objection from the state government.
“I would rather not comment on the matter but even the Selangor MB has come up with a special fund to help people who could lose their jobs due to the ruling. What does this show?
“I think it is a non-issue, simply because it is not a new ruling,” said Roslan.
The Malaysian Insider understands, however, that not all state executive councillors were against the ruling.
Datuk Dr Hasan Ali, a state executive councillor, is said to have thrown his full support behind the ruling.
“I think YB Ronnie Liu’s statements are personal, and do not reflect the state government’s stand or position,” said a source close to Hasan.
Liu has maintained that the “entire” Selangor executive council had agreed to withdraw the ruling pending further studies on the matter.
Early last week, it was reported that MPSJ decided to revoke the licences of businesses found to be violating the Selangor Syariah Criminal Enactment, which bans Muslims from working at premises selling alcohol.
Liu has since then said the state government’s disagreement on the matter was sending a “strong” message to local councils to “think before you act.”
“I think the Yang di-Pertua of MPSJ (Datuk Adnan Md Ikshan) is to blame for this. He should be held responsible because he did not consult the state government before going ahead with the ruling.
“The state is sending a strong message to local councils — before you want to do something, you have to study it carefully,” Liu had said. .
The Selangor state government announced last Friday that it would set up a special fund to help Muslim workers who are forced to resign from entertainment outlets serving alcohol, to ensure smooth implementation of the syariah enactment.
Khalid had said that four executive councillors —Hasan, Yaakob Sapari, Dr Halimah Ali and Rodziah Ismail — would meet the Selangor Zakat Authority to discuss the plan.
“We respect the Syariah Criminal Enactment that aims to help Muslims in looking for halal source of income but at the same time as a caring and fair government, we have to give sufficient time to all affected including business owners and their workers,” said Khalid. - Malaysian Insider
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