THE Kuala Lumpur City Hall has suspended the issuance of new liquor licences until a guideline and legal revision can be done, said Federal Territories Minister Annuar Musa.

Annuar in a parliamentary written reply today was replying to Teresa Kok (Seputeh-Pakatan Harapan) who asked why the freeze on new licences in Kuala Lumpur.

“DBKL had suspended issuing licences to sell alcohol in the Federal Territories on June 2, which was during the conditional movement control order (CMCO) that was in force from May 13 until June 9.

“When the government decided to ease the movement control order, the nation was shocked by road accidents involving drunk drivers that have claimed the lives of the public.

“Due to the current scenario, it is appropriate that the issuance of new licenses selling liquor be temporarily frozen until a guideline and legal review can be done,” Annuar said.

Annuar said KL City Hall was studying liquor licence issuance management modules by other countries such as Singapore, which bans the sale of alcohol from 10.30pm to 7.00am.

“This study will be carried out together with other relevant ministries and government agencies, such as the Customs Department, Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT), Ministry of Health Malaysia (MOH) and Ministry of Transport,” he added. 

Annuar on June 1 had urged the government to stop issuing new licences to sell liquor.

On Twitter, Annuar had said the enforcement of rules on shops selling alcohol need to be tightened following incidents of accidents caused by drunk drivers. – July 23, 2020.