MP: Cancellation of alcohol sale licence may infringe Sarawak’s rights

KUCHING: The call by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government to cancel or freeze licence for the sale of alcohol is a great concern because it may infringe the state’s rights, which in general comes under the jurisdiction of local councils and business licensing, says Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.

Its minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said her ministry was not ruling out the possibility of canceling or even freezing licence for the sale of alcohol due to a number of car accidents caused by drunk-driving.

Dr Yii said Sarawak has its own Local Government Regulation 1963 and Local Authority Ordinance which give the state discretion and autonomy in the running of local government matters.

“Zuraida’s call may run the risk of infringing the state’s rights. We must be cautious that any federal directive must not infringe our rights especially if it disrupts our multicultural and secular nature, especially in Sarawak as enshrined under the Federal Constitution and protected under the Malaysia Agreement 1963,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He said sometime in November 2018, when the then Ministry of Housing and Local Council proposed that all signboards with multi language must be replaced with a singular language was one of examples where federal directive was infringing the state’s right.

It was also proposed by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government then, but he opposed it publicly and reminded the minister in-charge of Sarawak and Sabah’s autonomy. The two states have their own Local Authority Ordinance, and the directive was not carried out in Sarawak.