MPSJ alcohol licensing rule temporarily on hold

The Subang Jaya Municipal Council's (MPSJ) ban on businesses which serve alcohol from hiring Muslims have been put on hold to avoid mass retrenchment.

Malaysiakini understands that this was decided during a special state exco meeting, chaired by Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, that was convened this afternoon to discuss the matter and the exco is in agreement that the ban must be implemented, but a safety net for Muslims who will lose their jobs as a result must be formulated first 

In the meantime, the news made it to the front page of The Sun today:

State steps in on alcohol licensing guideline

Meena L. Ramadas

newsdesk@thesundaily.com

PETALING JAYA (Jan 13, 2011): A Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) licensing guideline which would have put hundreds of Muslims out of a job has been withdrawn.

The state government had stepped in to rescind the council’s provision to ban Muslims from working in establishments which served alcohol.

State executive councillor for local councils Ronnie Liu said the provision had been withdrawn as MPSJ had not obtained the approval of the state executive council before deciding to implement it.

The council had stealthily enforced the licensing guideline by sending notices to establishments which serve alcohol that they are prohibited from hiring Muslims.

If MPSJ had its way, these business operators would have had to sign a pledge that they would not hire Muslims. Those who failed to abide by the condition would have been served with a compound or had their business licences revoked.

Those affected would be entertainment outlets such as pubs, hotel lounges and karaoke outlets.

However, due to the vague wording of the ruling, it was feared that even 24-hour convenience stores which rely almost solely on Muslim staff would be affected, as well as cashiers in hypermarkets.

"They wanted the business operators to sign a pledge to agree to the new provision under the guideline but it was difficult to adhere to," Liu said, adding that he had received numerous complaints on the ruling.

Under the Syariah Criminal Enactment of Selangor, it is an offence for Muslims to consume or serve alcohol. Liu said such a provision had "serious implications" for citizens and the state government.

"It will put half of the population out of jobs. Who is going to support these families?" he asked when contacted.

Liu said that although the guideline was intended for entertainment outlets, people would begin to question the rationale behind it and fear it might extend to other trades.

"People will say what about hotels and breweries? They may even sue the state government," he said.

MPSJ president Datuk Adnan Md Ikhsan declined comment, merely saying the council would issue a statement next week.

Councillor Norhesni Ismail said the council had agreed in mid-2008 to implement the provision.

"The syariah enactment stipulating this was already present before Pakatan Rakyat took over Selangor. We just decided to implement it," she said.

It is understood that such an implementation would require the approval of the Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (MAIS) and the Selangor sultan.

However, Norhesni said there was no need for the council to obtain the consent of the two parties as the guidelines were already present. 

"There is no need for consent. (State executive councillor for Islamic Affairs and MAIS member) Datuk Hassan Ali had said the guidelines are already there, so (we) must implement it," she added.

I just came back from Resort World Genting Highland and saw many Malay Muslims serving in there. I wonder if they were also banned from working as security guards in the casino or hotel staff who inevitably and indirectly would also serve guests who are gamblers, there would certainly be an acute labour shortage in Genting!