Restaurant and bar owners in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur were left in a daze after police and Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob gave conflicting orders on whether alcohol sale is allowed.
Ismail had said that while bars and pubs were not allowed to operate yet, restaurants could open and sell alcohol. However, Kuala Lumpur police have taken a different stance.
"So who do we follow?" Bangsar Bar and Restaurants Owners (BRO) pro-tem chairperson Benny Bedi told Malaysiakini.
He said the government, National Security Council, police and Kuala Lumpur City Hall should meet with bar and restaurant owners to discuss the matter.
The confusion over the sale of alcohol arose after several restaurateurs in Bangsar were ordered by police yesterday to stop serving alcohol.
This included bars that operated as restaurants serving food.
W1 restaurant and bar owner Danny Thompson said police had previously allowed him to sell alcohol after clarifying that he had a valid liquor license.
"But yesterday they said you can't sell liquor, so there are now two different instructions. I'm very confused," Thompson said.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Saiful Azly Kamaruddin told The Malaysian Insight earlier that "premises which have a restaurant and bar licence cannot open their bar."
"Only their restaurants are allowed to operate,” he said.
Brickfields police chief Anuar Omar was quoted by The Vibes as saying that disgruntled bar and restaurant owners should take their complaints to the NSC.
When the portal contacted Ismail, he said the NSC did not prohibit restaurants that serve alcohol from operating.
"Restaurants that sell liquor are not included in the list. After all, most Japanese restaurants sell sake," the minister told The Vibes.
Joshua Billique, whose restaurant bears his name, said bar and restaurant owners have done much to comply with the SOPs to keep their businesses afloat.
This included reducing their seating capacity to below 50 percent and not having live performances.
As such, he said serving alcohol was vital to keeping businesses such as theirs from shutting down.
"We really hope to be allowed to sell alcohol again [...] that is our concept, dine-in while drinking," he told Malaysiakini. - Mkini
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