The Malaysian Insider understands that many state executive council members are unhappy with the recent ruling, which was made last Monday.
Ronnie Liu, who is state Local Government Committee chairman, said today the “entire Selangor exco” agreed to withdraw the ruling, stressing that more time was needed to study the ruling before enforcing it.
“I really don’t think that they (MPSJ) have any choice in the matter... if you go ahead with this it is going to create a new wave of retrenchment. Who is going to replace the Muslim workers who have been retrenched?
“Quite a lot of people will be affected by this ruling. They will ask who is responsible for this... and what can we say? Questions of double standards will definitely arise because other states do not enforce this,” Liu told The Malaysian Insider.
Early this week, the 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 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,” said Liu.
He claimed that the ruling would “severely” affect businesses in Subang Jaya, signalling concerns that the ruling could also be extended to restaurants and hotels.
“Will this move affect other industries? Is the MPSJ going to extend it to hotels and restaurants? Please do not rush into making such mistakes,” he said.
Asked whether Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim agreed with the executive council, Liu said it was Khalid’s “idea” to study the ruling further before enforcing it.
“Only once you have studied it, then you will realise whether you can carry out the ruling,” he said.
Liu also said he and Khalid would be meeting all local council heads on Monday to gauge their views on the matter.
Other state government leaders have refused to comment on the matter, choosing instead to air their unhappiness over MPSJ’s ruling on popular micro-blogging site Twitter.
“Local councils are not religious authorities. MPSJ should be focusing on town planning, infrastructures & cleanliness,” said Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh on Twitter this morning.
Selangor Speaker Datuk Teng Chang Khim declined comment when asked by The Malaysian Insider.
At the same time, however, the DAP politician posted a response on Twitter earlier today.
“Perhaps MPSJ may want to pass (a) by-law that ensure(s) all Muslims wear kopiah & Muslimat tutup aurat (cover up) before giving (them) business licenses soon,” tweeted Teng.
The Selangor state government announced yesterday it would set up special funds 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 — Datuk Dr Hasan Ali, 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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