Council by-laws can be nullified by Act of Parliament — PSB man
KUCHING: A local council bylaw allowing the sale of liquor can be easily nullified by an Act of Parliament banning the same, said Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) Mulu pro tem chairman Prof Dr Son Radu.
“In Sarawak, local council bylaws governing sale of liquor, like all the other by-laws of the councils are made subject to the provisions in the enabling state Ordinance, which in this case is the Local Authority Ordinance 1966.
“In turn, nothing in the provisions of that Ordinance shall contravene the provisions of the Sarawak Constitution, a Cabinet decision, the provisions of an Act of Parliament or the federal constitution. In short, a by-law of the local council is only good and effective insofar as it is consistent with the parent laws,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Son said when the council chairmen and councils they preside over declare that they will not consider banning the sale of liquor in the manner Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is banning it, they mistakenly think they are outside the bounds of their council by-laws.
“The general consensus is that the ban on sale of liquor by grocery and convenience stores, and Chinese medical halls and drugstores by the DBKL is a product of Malayan politics, and such bans have no place in Sarawak and will not be implemented.
“The reality is their ability to be exempted from a ban that is founded upon a higher law like an Act of Parliament is extremely constrained,” he said.
Son said many Acts of Parliament or parts of an Act are products of Malayan politics, and one proposal for law which is waiting passage in Parliament is the RUU355 – a Syariah-related Bill.
“RUU355 started its journey as a private Bill of PAS. Today PAS, together with GPS are partners in the PN federal government, and if the RUU355 is tabled in Parliament while PAS is still in the government, it will be tabled as a government Bill. GPS, as a part of the federal government will be obliged to support the Bill.
“Herein lies one of the threats to the lifestyle and even to the human rights of Sarawakians for whom consumption of liquor is both part of their culture and tradition,” he said.
He noted that Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has been quoted as having said that the development of Sarawak and Malaysia must continue to be in line with the concept of civilisation articulated by Ibn Khaldun in his book ‘ Muqadimmah', which is infused with the sharia and fiqh.
In short, Abang Johari sees Sarawak as developing along Islamic principles, Son said.
“The question that Sarawakians must ask now is this: Should we wait and see if the RUU355 becomes law in Malaysia, or are we already seeing the preview of the RUU355 in all these seemingly random and ‘minor' addition to the laws that has the potentials of restricting non-Muslim way of life in Sarawak?
“While I do not condone the abuse of alcohol, I call upon all Sarawakians to reflect upon and view this issue rationally because this is not about the sale and consumption per se.
“It is about the possible introduction of laws that potentially can bring about the eventual erosion of the rights to non-Muslims to live the lifestyle they are accustomed to and which forms part of their culture and tradition,” he said.