The gov't wants you to spend more time with your family

"In Sabah, we have our own unique entertainment and culture, which may be different from Kuala Lumpur and we have our own plans." 

– Deputy Sabah chief minister Christina Liew

In enforcing the 1am closing time for entertainment outlets as contained in their licences, Federal Territories minister Khalid Samad said it would serve "as a reminder to those in Kuala Lumpur to spend more time and money with their families rather than at entertainment outlets."

Really? The Pakatan Harapan government cannot ratify an international treaty like the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd), but it has no problem telling Malaysians how to spend their money? Whom they should spend their time with? I mean, what do people do with their families at 1am in the morning anyway? What does Khalid do with his family at that time? 

Apparently, entertainment outlets have a very lax attitude when it comes to enforcing this clause in their licence. And who could blame them? Even when the economy is bad, people are partying like there is no tomorrow. Mind you, some people believe that the only way to party is to party like there's no tomorrow. But I digress.

Sabah meanwhile, has pooh-poohed the idea. When asked, deputy chief minister Christina Liew said: "I don't think we have to worry too much about the (proposal) considering what we have here." 

I have no idea what Sabah has there, but I really like it whatever it is. In the quote that opens this piece, Liew said that Sabah has a culture different from Kuala Lumpur. I wonder what this cultural difference is. Not to mention, don’t the people of Sabah want to spend more time with their families?

What exactly is going on here? Khalid claimed that the Kuala Lumpur City Hall received complaints about noise and other disturbances. But does anyone really believe this? I mean, sure, there would have been complaints from certain areas which would necessitate certain measures being taken, but a blanket enforcement of all entertainment outlets? This is not kosher.

DAP Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun is worried about this strict enforcement policy, as he should be. “I hope the government will not have a one-size-fits-all ruling. I can understand the rationale of limiting the operating hours of outlets close to residential areas.”

Moral policing

My own take is that entertainment outlets in residential areas should be closely monitored. Not only because of the noise pollution and other disturbances – whatever that means – but because many of these outlets serve as vehicles for money laundering, prostitution, illegal gambling and other illicit activities that cater to hypocritical suburban populations. Note that this is not a blanket condemnation on sex work, but this is not the article to discuss this subject.

Apparently, there were special considerations for certain entertainment outlets to close at 5am to cater to tourists. But these outlets were found to have catered to locals, and apparently, this is a bad thing. 

Can you imagine? The government is distressed that locals are supporting local businesses by spending their money. It seems that the government would rather people spend time with their families instead of supporting local business.

What the hell is the matter with these sanctimonious guardians of morality? It's okay for foreigners to spend money and contribute to the local economy, but when it comes to locals, this is not a good thing?

I get that the tourist ringgit is important, but to dismiss the impact of locals contributing to the economy is damn well irresponsible. And to justify it on extremely stupid grounds – like a reminder for more family time – is just disgusting.

This is about moral policing. The government could, of course, rely on the fact that these entertainment outlets are going against clauses in their licences, but the reality is that whenever a government seeks to enforce certain regulations pertaining to entertainment, especially in a country dominated by Islamic imperatives, it is all about moral policing.

Moral mission creep

Clamping down on activities deemed detrimental to religious sensibilities using legal provisions is exactly the kind of sub rosa (under the nose) move that riles up the religious base. 

Forget about all the sin tax collected, or the fact that entertainment outlets are a convenient mechanism for social interaction among the various ethnic groups in Malaysia. Enforcing stiffer regulations on how people choose to spend their time is the time-honoured way in which fascists slowly encroach into our public and private spaces.

What we are really talking about is here is that the Harapan government is telling you how to live. Look, the folks of the Kampung Manjoi incident were essentially pushing the same narrative. They did not want the local stores selling alcohol. 

This is a variation of the same theme. The government is telling you how to spend your time and money. You spend time with your family because the government tells you to. All this is about 'sinning' at the expense of the 'sacred' family. Or so these religious types would have us believe.

This is how it starts. These are sub rosa moves, and nobody wants to say anything about it. I did not even bother quoting the various tourism bodies because these moves are not about foreigners, but about control of the locals. Otherwise, why start enforcing these types of things now?

Does anyone really think that by enforcing this regulation, that people will spend more time with their families? But that isn't the point, is it? 

In my experience, religious fascism is not interested in the outcome, only that the dictate is imposed. Would anyone really mind if there was stricter enforcement of entertainment outlets in residential areas? No, they would not. 

Entertainment outlets looking for a bigger slice of the pie would move to places where there is more traffic, so establishments in residential areas that offer illicit pleasures will just look for more conducive environments.

Legitimate neighbourhood pubs would not really mind closing earlier, because if they are any good, they would have an established clientele who would leave at a reasonable hour, only to turn up the next day.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng claims that the Harapan government needs three years to bring the economy back on track, but when we have policies like these rooted in the kind of moral policing that Sabah apparently does not need, who knows what other businesses would be targeted. 

For every step forward, some folks want to drag us two steps back. 

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. - Mkini