CORONAVIRUS | The government’s decision to grant an exception to Heineken Malaysia Bhd to continue its operations during the movement control order (MCO) is against established policies, Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa said today.
"This is clearly not in line with the policies decided. Action needs to be taken immediately. Period," the Umno secretary-general said in a posting on Twitter in reply to a netizen who was protesting against the exception.
This comes after a letter purportedly granting permission to Heineken to operate during the MCO went viral on social media.
The matter was later confirmed by Heineken in a statement that it is only allowed limited operations with 10 percent of their essential workers during the MCO.
PAS has also spoken up against the beer factory being allowed to continue its operations during the MCO.
The Islamist party’s central committee member Nasrudin Hassan said he is unsure if this is true or not as it has yet to be confirmed by the government but if it is, the Muslim community will be offended.
“If this is true, then I am confident that the Muslim community, in particular, will be offended and protest against this exception.
“Meanwhile, PAS which is now part of the government will definitely take the appropriate role so that the government will reconsider revoking the exception.
"Alcohol is not a staple drink to the rakyat to the point that it can damage the country’s economy," he said in a statement on his Facebook today.
PAS' Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari has also urged the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry to explain the viral letter.
"If the letter is legitimate, I would like to urge the government, specifically the relevant ministry, to revoke the permission granted because clearly the alcohol industry is not a critical business or service.
"It is mandatory for a Muslim like myself and the Muslim community to stand up and voice our protest against this leniency and privilege given to the alcohol industry, let alone during the Covid-19 outbreak.
"What value is left for a Muslim who prays to God while they allow alcohol to flow freely when they could stop it?" the parliamentarian asked in a statement yesterday.
Similarly, PAS Youth chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin said while they respect the non-Muslims' rights in this matter, is too much to include alcohol as a critical product.
"PAS Youth believes that the government should be educating the rakyat to avoid the drinking culture as it has been proven to bring more damage than benefit.
"This can be seen through the statistics of road accidents caused by drunk drivers before the MCO was implemented in the middle of March," he added in a separate statement today.
He said PAS Youth hopes the cabinet will discuss this matter immediately in the next cabinet meeting and review the decision.
"Our demand is for the approval letter issued by the government to be reconsidered and revoked for the sake of the rakyat.
"If not, the country will need to prepare for wrath greater than Allah for allowing such a decision to be implemented in Malaysia," said Khairil.
Meanwhile, FMT claimed that the government would revoke the approval for Heineken to continue operating during the MCO.
Quoting a source, the news portal said the secretary-general of the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry had issued the letter without the approval of minister Alexander Nanta Linggi and the International Trade and Industry Ministry. - Mkini
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