Curb social menace of cheap liquor

June 3, 2016

Abdul Karim urges control of locally brewed alcohol sales, clampdown on moonshiners

SIBU: The government has been urged to curb illegal distilling of alcohol and control the sale of locally brewed liquors as many youths are addicted to the cheap brew.

Assistant Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah pointed out while the sale of alcoholic beverages will be restricted to people above 21 years old from the current 18, starting Dec 1, 2017, sale of illegal liquors is outside the law and young drinkers prefer cheap brews and alcohol from local distilleries because they more affordable .

“This is the bigger menace faced by our society as many youngsters are now hooked not to the “branded” alcoholic drinks but to cheap locally brewed alcoholic drinks.

“The government has to come down hard on these breweries whether they are licensed or not,” Abdul Karim, who is also Assistant Housing Minister told The Borneo Post yesterday.

He asserted only by keeping watch over moonshiners and controlling sales of local liquor would the problem of alcoholism among youth be mitigated

The Asajaya assemblyman was commenting on Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S Subramaniam’s statement that come Dec 1, 2017, the sale of alcoholic beverages would be restricted to people above 21 years of age.

Abdul Karim said it was heartening to hear that the federal government is regulating and restricting the sale of alcoholic drinks to only those 21 years and above instead of 18 yrs as it is now.

However, he cautioned that the regulation would be ineffective without strong enforcement.

“This is the biggest problem faced by the government. They can have all this good and restrictive laws but if they were not properly enforced, these laws can mean nothing,” he opined.

Meanwhile, Subramaniam was quoted to have said that the amended Food Regulations 1985 required that alcoholic beverages for sale be displayed in cabinets or racks separate from those for other food, and all the alcoholic drinks must carry the label “Drinking Alcohol Is Injurious to Health”.

He also said the amended regulations were gazetted on May 27, adding that the amendments were in keeping with the Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol.

According to Subramaniam, failure to adhere to the regulations constituted an offence that carried a penalty of a maximum RM10,000 fine or a jail term of up to two years.