EXTREMISTS will never get Oktoberfest banned in Penang, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said, at the conclusion of the Malaysian German Society’s 45th annual beer festival in Penang this evening.

He said despite the “unfriendly noise” against the festival in other states, Penang would never ban Oktoberfest or attempt to have the name changed.

“These extremists may have succeeded in banning Oktoberfest in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, but they will never succeed in Penang. 

“Penang is not keen on banning this or anything that interferes in Malaysians’ freedom. We are no Taliban state,” he said in his speech at the Malaysian German Society, where Oktoberfest is held every year.

Also present were German ambassador to Malaysia Nikolas Graf Lambsdorff, German honorary-consul Hans Peter Brenner, and consuls-general and other representatives of various embassies, high commissions and consulate-generals.

Lim said he was glad Penang did not have to face the sort of intimidation that other states did from those who opposed beer festivals.

He congratulated the German and local communities that had worked together to host the annual festival without fear to show that Penang had no room for racial and religious extremism.

He said the people must continue to stand together for diversity, moderation, harmony, and mutual respect in a multi-cultural, multi-faith society.

He said Oktoberfest had been held for many years in Malaysia without attracting any controversy, but extremists had recently seen an opportunity to gain the support of conservative voters in the next general election by seeking to ban the festival.

“These extremists do not care that only non-Muslims drink, not the Muslims… We do not force anyone to drink. Why then should you force Germans and Malaysians, especially non-Muslims, not to drink?” he said.

Lim said if anything should be banned, it should be extremism, racism, discrimination, hypocrisy, ignorance, corruption, double-standards, and poverty.

He also thanked the police for maintaining safety and security at the venue and in the state.

Beer festivals in Malaysia came under the spotlight last month after City Hall banned the Better Beer Festival in the capital. The event, which was first organised in 2012, was to have taken place early this month.

The ban was first reported to be due to “political sensitivities” following a protest by PAS, which claimed such an event would make Kuala Lumpur a vice hub.

Police later said the authorities refused to issue a permit for the festival due to security concerns. – October 14, 2017.