IT was threat of sabotage and not political pressure that caused law enforcers to have a beer festival in the capital cancelled, said Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun today.

He said police had received information that there was a plan to sabotage the event, but refused to divulge more.

“The decision to disallow it this year has nothing to do with religious and racial sensitivities or political pressure.

“The Royal Malaysian Police will not bow to pressure from any quarter who want the security information to be disclosed, especially from those who are ignorant of the need to maintain operational secrets,” he said in a statement.

He was referring to the cancellation of the Better Beer Festival, which was to have been held in Kuala Lumpur for the fifth year running.

Fuzi pointed out that the festival had been allowed to proceed in previous years, and only a threat to public safety and property had prevented it from being held again this year.

“That decision is necessary as we should all understand that fighting threats from militants is not easy.

“Even the world’s superpowers with their sophisticated technology have failed to prevent their countries from being targets of militants,” he said.

Fuzi said it was also better to be safe than sorry, adding that there would be no compromise when it came to public safety.

The Better Beer Festival 2017 was scheduled to be held on Friday and Saturday in Kuala Lumpur. The organisers were refused a permit for the event from City Hall citing reasons of “political sensitivities”, which were later amended to “safety fears”.

The cancellation raised a public brouhaha and was mostly denounced by politicians in the opposition camp, with the exception of PAS, which had slammed the festival, warning that such events would turn Kuala Lumpur into the vice hub of Asia. – October 4, 2017.