Guan Eng scoffs at Timah decision while KL liquor ban still on

 

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said the Timah controversy was a non-issue that had made Malaysia an international laughing stock.

PETALING JAYA: DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng has dismissed MCA president Wee Ka Siong’s description of the resolution of the Timah whisky branding controversy as a demonstration of the government’s Keluarga Malaysia concept.

Wee had been quoted in news reports as saying the Cabinet reached its decision “in the spirit of Keluarga Malaysia”.

Lim pointed out that the decision on the Timah name came while a ban on the sale of alcohol at Chinese medicine halls and sundry shops in Kuala Lumpur was still in place.

He said the ban “clearly interferes in the traditional business practices and customary lifestyle of non-Muslims” and was contrary to the Keluarga Malaysia concept and the multiracial and multi-cultural character of Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has ruled that alcoholic beverages can be sold at designated premises only from 7am to 9pm.

Lim said that Wee (who is transport minister) and domestic trade and consumer affairs minister Alexander Nanta Linggi should be “ashamed” that the Cabinet had to intervene in the Timah whisky matter.

Objections had been raised recently over the name, which critics alleged to be a reference to a Muslim name Fatimah, and to an image on the label.

Lim said “a non-issue like retaining the brand name has made Malaysia an international laughing stock,” and argued that it showed the perilous position of non-Malays and non-Muslims under the current federal government.

Timah’s manufacturers confirmed today that the Cabinet had agreed to allow the name to be kept with an explanation that the name referred to tin ore. - FMT