Easily accessible liquor creating social problems

These beverages are of inferior quality and pose a threat to the community, especially children.

Dr Christopher Nicholas

KUALA LUMPUR: The increasing number of intoxicated people sleeping on walkways and parks reflects a much bigger social problem and residents are blaming Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for it.

The Brickfields Community Society – a coalition of 40 NGOs including residents associations, schools and places of worship – wants the government to push for more bite on laws on the sale and display of compounded hard liquor.

Society secretary Dr Christopher Nicholas said the men who died of suspected alcohol poisoning could very well happen in Brickfields.

“It is the tip of the iceberg and we have always been vocal about the increasing number of sundry shops and supermarkets selling cheap liquor in our township and things are not looking good,” said Christopher.

Since DBKL closed down a toddy shop a few years ago, it had allowed 15 outlets to open with licences to sell liquor in Brickfields alone, he claimed.

Some of these outlets operate 24 hours.

“DBKL rules say no selling liquor after 9pm, but the shops are extending their operating hours,” he said.

“The outlets are selling cheap liquor for as low as RM3 but with a high alcohol content. They also have promotions like buy three beers for RM10.

“These beverages are of inferior quality and pose a threat to the community, especially children, who are exposed to liquor shops that are available at their doorstep,” said Christopher.

Anticheap liquor crusader P. David Marshel said he was not at all surprised to hear about the mushrooming of shops selling cheap liquor.

He attributed the problem to relaxed enforcement by the authorities.

“Back in the 1990s, they only sold cheap liquor in Chinese medicine shops; today you can find the beverage everywhere,” he said.

Marshel also said a Uturn on a regulation on alcohol purchase and consumption, which was gazetted on May 27, 2016, proved his point.

The regulation came into effect on Dec 1, 2017, to give manufacturers and retailers time to adapt and make the necessary changes.

But the government eventually postponed the enforcement of the regulation indefinitely.

Amendments to Regulation 361 of the Food Regulation Act (on general standards for alcoholic beverages) made it mandatory for alcohol retailers to display notices stating that “drinking alcohol is harmful to health” along with signs indicating that they are not to be sold to those below 21.

Previously, the age limit was 18. The amendment also requires compounded hard liquor to be sold in glass bottles with a minimum 700ml content, which would have increased the tax on each bottle.

Attempts to get DBKL for comment were unsuccessful.