Beer festival organiser wants DBKL to reconsider rejection

PETALING JAYA: The organiser of the Better Beer Festival has asked Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to reconsider its rejection of the event, saying that it has put security measures in place.

In a statement, MyBeer Sdn Bhd said it has held the craft beer festival annually for the past five years without any “untoward incidents” during or after the event.

MyBeer said it would be conduct- ing strict identification and security checks at all entry points to the enclosed areas.

It also plans to have multiple security personnel, Publika auxiliary police and Malaysian Red Crescent members to ensure safety and security at the event.

The Better Beer Festival 2017 was scheduled to run on Oct 6 and 7 at Publika Shopping Gallery in Kuala Lumpur.

On Sept 18, DBKL said it had rejected the organisers’ application to hold the event, after receiving a permit application on Aug 28.

The DBKL announcement came a week after PAS central committee member Dr Riduan Mohd Nor spoke out against the event.

On Wednesday, MCA president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the matter had been brought up to the Cabinet, which was told that the event was cancelled because of security concerns expressed by the police.

He told reporters, who met him at his ministry after the Cabinet meeting, that the views of the police and the authorities had to be accepted.

MyBeer, in its statement, thanked the Government for discussing the cancellation of the event at the Cabinet meeting, but said it would appeal the decision and present its security provisions to DBKL.

“It is our hope that DBKL will give us an opportunity to meet and discuss our appeal and grant us permission for the event to proceed.

“We will seek a meeting with DBKL to present our provisions for security again, which we believe are adequate,” it added.