PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has denied that the ban on liquor sales at grocery and convenience stores as well as Chinese medicine shops in the city has been lifted.
DBKL said a Nov 23 statement that its excise licensing board had revoked the ban is not true.
“The sale of liquor at grocery and convenience stores as well as Chinese medicine shops is still subject to the guidelines that have been set.
“The board, which convened on Nov 23, had only approved 1,519 applications for the renewal of various wholesale, public housing and retail licences. No new retail licences were approved,” it said in a statement today.
FMT is reaching out to the DBKL excise licensing board for comment.
Under the ban, which took effect in November 2021, the sale of hard liquor or distilled spirits was barred at these premises. However, customers were still allowed to buy beer from them from 7am to 9pm.
The ban was reportedly lifted last week following the appointment of new committee members to the board. It also reportedly approved 1,519 applications for liquor licences.
In an interview with Sin Chew Daily, the board’s vice-chairman, Pooi Weng Keong, said the new committee did not view the sale of alcohol at these stores as an issue.
He also said the committee would meet again on Dec 20 to review new applications for liquor licences.
Federal territories PAS Youth information chief Abdul Razak Ramli had voiced objections against the reported lifting of the ban, saying it was “regrettable and disappointing” as it would lead to more social problems.
But DAP’s Kasthuri Patto, a member of the excise licensing board, urged Razak to focus on more important issues and to learn to respect differences of cultures and beliefs. - FMT
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