Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong posted a Mandarin statement in his facebook account stating that the Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz will revoke the Customs Department policy requiring restaurants and coffee shops selling beer/stout must obtain an alcohol license with fees of up to RM1,300. However, there was no statement in English or Bahasa Malaysia accompanying the Mandarin statement in Wee’s facebook.
Wee said that the Customs Department directive issued to various state and local governments would be revoked as the state authority would decide on whether to impose any conditions including enforcing the licensing requirement. This is similar to the response I had obtained from the Finance Ministry.
“Salam YB, saya ambil maklum perkara ini walaubagaimanapun, pelesenan dan pelaksanaan penguatkuasaan pelesenan penjualan liquor adalah di bawah bidang kuasa Lembaga Pelesenan yang dilantik melalui pemberian kuasa Menteri Kewangan kepada Menteri Besar/Ketua Menteri pada tahun 1977. Oleh itu, pelaksanaan dan penguatkuasaan pelesenan penjualan liquor adalah mengikut budi bicara Lembaga Pelesenan yang ditubuhkan di peringkat PBT, dan Jabatan Kastam sebagai ahli dalam mesyuarat Lembaga Pelesenan tersebut perlu mendapatkan keputusan Lembaga Pelesenan negeri berhubung sebarang isu pelaksanaan penguatkuasaan yang berbangkit.
Oleh yang demikian, rayuan berkenaan perlesenan penjualan liquor runcit perlu dibuat kepada Lembaga Perlesenan di peringkat negeri peruncit masing-masing.”
Previously, there was no enforcement of a regulation requiring alcohol licenses for business establishments such as coffee shops and restaurants selling beer. The state government need not decide whether selling beer requires an alcohol license as it was considered within the purview of the Finance Ministry. For this reason in the past, this requirement of alcohol license for selling beer has never been an issue for the state licensing authority.
However, in recent letters by the Customs Department on 16 August and 8 September 2021 to the various state licensing authorities that under such powers as exercised by them under the 1976 Excise Act, the Customs Department recommended the licensing of beer as alcohol be required. The Customs Director-General even stated that after getting the views of the Finance Ministry, enforcement action will be taken under the Excise Act on the selling of beer in coffee shops and restaurants that must be licensed as alcohol.
Even though the Finance Ministry has revoked the ruling of selling beer as requiring an alcohol license, there is nothing to stop the state government from doing so because the Finance Ministry is letting the state licensing authority decide. For the Finance Ministry not to exercise its power but recommend that it is up to the state licensing authority may result in some state governments deciding to impose licensing of selling beer as alcohol with license fees of up to RM1,300.
Whilst this may not be a concern in PH-controlled state governments, this may pose a problem for other state governments especially those influenced by the extremist PAS. Witness Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur that imposed bans on sundry shops and Chinese medicine halls selling alcohol.
DAP urges the Federal government to revert to the previous position that automatically permits coffee shops and restaurants to continue to sell beer without paying fees of alcohol license up to RM1,300/-.