Liow respects decision to call off beer fest

MCA has accepted the decision of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) which rejected an application to organise the Better Beer Festival 2017 in the federal capital for security reasons.

According to Bernama, MCA president Liow Tiong Lai said he raised the issue to cabinet today and was informed that the decision was made for security reasons as advised by the police.

"I am satisfied with the information given during the meeting and as a responsible party and government, the safety of the public has always been our top priority," said the transport minister when met by reporters after attending the cabinet meeting.

Liow, however, was disappointed with some of the political statements made by DAP on the issue, which depicted as if the government banned the people from drinking liquor.

"To organise such an event, we must place utmost importance on public safety first and we should respect the decision and advice made by the authorities and police," he said.

According to reports by Chinese dailies, Liow was quoted saying that DBKL's decision had nothing to do with politics or religion.

"If it is political or religious sensitivities, then I would not accept it.

"But if it is a question of security, this is something I cannot get upset about," said Liow, according to Kwong Wah Daily.

Liow's change of heart

He said that he respected the decision and that if it had not been held in a public area then it would not have been a problem.

This was a far cry from what Liow said yesterday after chairing the MCA presidential council meeting.

According to Sin Chew Daily, Liow said that the event has been held over the past few years without any incident and therefore DBKL should not stop it now.

"We cannot accept personal opinions being adopted as government policy, which can lead to Kuala Lumpur becoming an international laughing stock.

"We uphold the Federal Constitutional and freedom of various ethnic groups. As long as the country's laws are not violated, we believe DBKL should allow the event to take place," he said.

The Better Beer Festival, an event to promote smaller breweries, has been taking place without much fanfare in Kuala Lumpur since 2011.

However, it came to national prominence after PAS central committee member Riduan Mohd Nor complainedabout it less than a fortnight ago and said it would lead to reprisals from extremists.

Organisers Mybeer (M) Sdn Bhd said they had been informed that the event had to be cancelled this year due to political sensitivities. - Mkini