Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong forgets himself by asking me what more I want over the controversy of the Finance Ministry’s new policy requiring a license for beer and alcohol sales by restaurants and coffee shops to be decided by the respective state governments. Wee appears to be blinded by the perks and privileges of office until he forgets his role as an elected representative when he should know what I want is not important. What the 20,000 coffee shops and 15,000 restaurant operators throughout the whole country want is of paramount importance.
And all the coffee shops and restaurant associations throughout the country have clearly declared that they want the continued postponement of enforcing the licensing for sales for beer and alcoholic drinks, The 20,000 coffee shops and 15,000 restaurants do not want to have to pay for a license costing up to RM1,300 and fill in the tedious bureaucratic forms EVERY month just to sell beer and alcoholic drinks.
Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz has unequivocally denied in Parliament Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong’s allegations that his Ministry had revoked the liquor licence requirement for restaurants and coffee shops to sell beer and alcohol as untrue. Zafrul said the power to license or exempt retail premises like coffee shops and restaurants from selling beer or alcoholic drinks is up to the respective State Licensing Authority.
Up to now Wee has not rebutted this new Finance Ministry policy of delegating the power to license or exempt retail premises to the respective State Licensing Authority. Previously this enforcement of licensing was not delegated to the respective state governments but postponed in a directive by Customs Department on 20 September 1993.
The coffee shops and restaurant operators throughout the country had no problems when I was Finance Minister because I had continued this postponement. In other words, not only coffee shops and restaurants need not apply for a license to sell beer and alcoholic drinks but the respective State Licensing Authority do not have the powers to decide whether to impose licensing.
Unfortunately, the postponement of enforcement of licensing was withdrawn by Customs on 16 August 2021 and should be reinstated as requested by the coffee shop and restaurant operators. By not reinstating the postponement of enforcing licensing and leaving to the respective State Licensing Authority to decide, coffee shops and restaurants in states heavily influenced by the extremist PAS will be burdened with the additional RM1,300 licensing costs and the tedious inconveniences of making monthly reports of beer and alcoholic sales.
Despite being proven as telling a falsehood by Tengku Zafrul that there was no revocation of the licensing requirement, Wee still refused to admit that he deliberately misled the public by claiming that there was. Wee must explain what type of revocation he is talking about when state governments can now decide to impose licensing when they did not have such powers previously.
Instead of falsely announcing the directive requiring licensing is revoked and resolved, Wee should be pressing the Finance Minister to reinstate the previous practice in 1993 of postponing the enforcement of licensing as well as revoke the new policy of delegating to the respective State Licensing Authority the power to decide whether to license the sale of beer and alcoholic drinks by restaurants and coffee shops. So far only the PH state governments have stated that they will not disrupt the current practice and therefore not require licensing of the sale of beer in restaurants and coffee shops.
Many coffee shops and restaurant operators in the PH controlled states of Penang, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor are relieved that they do not have to apply for a license to sell beer or alcoholic drinks. But they stand together in solidarity with coffee shop and restaurant operators in non-PH controlled states to firmly oppose any new licensing requirement. The fear is that this is the first step to introduce licensing to some states first and then let it spread by imposing this nationally.
Can Wee guarantee that since this power of licensing is now delegated to the respective state licensing authority, not one state government will impose this licensing requirement on coffee shop and restaurant operators?