By Adib Zalkapli
PETALING JAYA, Sept 14 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) will not change its stand on the sale of alcohol in Selangor, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.
The opposition leader was commenting on a proposal being drawn up by PAS Youth to ban the sale of alcohol in Muslim majority areas in PR-controlled states.
“The media has somewhat manipulated the statement. What they did was to come up with suggestions to be deliberated by the leadership of Pakatan,” said Anwar.
Anwar said the proposal would be discussed by the PR leadership council at its next meeting.
“I don’t think we should deny people from expressing their views but they are not imposing nor are they demanding us to take their views into consideration. So let us just look at their proposal,” he said.
“As it stands, we take an open view to allow different people to express their cultural views and values,” he added.
Anwar said the coalition had accepted the Selangor government’s decision to impose self-regulation for the sale of alcoholic beverages in Malay-Muslim majority areas.
“Our position is what we decided in the last meeting, that is there are administrative arrangements made and this has been accepted, that the current policy will continue, notwithstanding any of our component parties or Youth wing wanting to express their views.”
The decision to endorse the Selangor government’s move was made at a PR leadership council meeting last month.
It also decided to compel coalition leaders to use internal channels to voice out their disagreements after a member of the executive council, Datuk Hassan Ali of PAS, openly attacked his colleague from the DAP, Ronnie Liu, for refusing to support the action of Shah Alam City Council enforcement officers in seizing beers from a convenience store.
Meanwhile Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said he would meet owners of 24-hour convenience stores in the state soon to discuss the best way to solve the matter.
He added that some of the stores in Muslim majority areas have stopped selling alcoholic beverages.
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