JERAM assemblyman Mohd Shaid Rosli, who was slammed on social media for allegedly ordering a supermarket to close its alcohol section, said he merely made a suggestion on behalf of his constituents in Puncak Alam, Shah Alam, Selangor.
Shaid told The Malaysian Insight he urged the management of Jaya Grocer to consider the suggestion forwarded in a memorandum.
“I did not force or push the management to close its alcohol section in its newly opened outlet in Puncak Alam,” said the former Bersatu representative, who is now aligned to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Pejuang party.
“The memorandum I submitted to the grocery store on behalf of local residents objecting to the sales of alcohol in the premises was a mere suggestion for the management to consider.
“We did not push Jaya Grocer to close the (alcohol) section because they are licensed to sell alcohol.
“Residents have the right to ask for the sale of alcohol to be stopped but the decision to stop or to continue is up to the management,” Shaid told The Malaysian Insight.
Jaya Grocer opened its outlet in Eco Grandeur, Puncak Alam, on December 2 and locals started complaining about the sale of alcohol in the supermarket.
An online petition was started protesting against the sale of alcoholic beverages in the outlet and to date, the petition has received more than 6,000 signatures.
The following day, Shaid visited the outlet and submitted the memorandum.
He shared a copy of the memorandum of Facebook, which underlined several reasons for the protest, including “respecting the sensitivities of the 90% Muslim population in Puncak Alam”.
Shaid said three residents’ associations have raised concerns over the sale of alcohol in the area, saying there is an increase in alcohol-related social crimes, strained family ties and vandalism.
He said he supports the move as a fellow resident of Puncak Alam but claims the residents there are leading the protest against the sale of alcohol.
“The memorandum sent was based on the demand from the residents in Puncak Alam, which is part of Jeram, my constituency.
“As the assemblyman and a resident in Puncak Alam, fellow locals in the neighbourhood asked me to issue a memorandum to stop the sale of alcohol but I advised them that residents should raise such protests and that I shouldn’t be making my own decisions.”
After receiving the memorandum from the assemblyman, the supermarket’s management boarded up the entire non-halal section, eventually closing it.
Jaya Grocer issued its own statement, saying: “Dear all, thank you for raising this issue. Rest assured that your concerns have been heard.”
This drew the ire of the public and some took on the assemblyman by commenting directly on his Facebook page, criticising him for brewing up racial and religion issues.
A counter-petition was also created online five days ago, asking the supermarket to reopen its non-halal section, claiming that nearly 20% non-Muslim families are living near the vicinity.
The petition has so far garnered more than 14,000 signatures.
On the counter-petition, Shaid said it is not fair to take count of the signatures because it is not limited to residents in Puncak Alam but nationwide.
“The Puncak Alam residents made a petition to stop the sales of alcohol in the area, not outsiders.
“But I heard there is a new online petition, which is being participated by people outside Puncak Alam.
“As far as I know, the Chinese who are staying in Eco World, a new area here, comprise around 300 families while close to 30,000 here are Malay families. That’s the fact,” Shaid said.
Malay territory
After submitting the memorandum to the Jaya Grocer manager, Shaid uploaded a post on Facebook with several photos of the outlet’s non-halal section. In the post, Shaid went on to say that Puncak Alam is a Malay territory.
When asked about this, Shaid told The Malaysian Insight there was no malice intended over the post and that he respects everyone.
He said the phrase, “Malay territory”, was akin to a telco operator’s advertisement and that he did not intend to hurt the feelings of others.
“What I meant to say was ‘this is Malay-majority territory’, just like how telco operator Celcom once advertised, ‘this is Celcom territory’... I meant something similar.
“But people misinterpreted my message and politicised it,” he said.
Shaid added that he did not mean to disrespect the Chinese and Indian residents in the area and urged people not to take it wrongly.
He thanked the Chinese and Indians and credited them for his win in the last elections.
“I won the election last time because of Chinese and Indians, too. Although Malays are the majority here, their support for political parties might differ and is split here but I know the Chinese and Indians totally supported me to win the (last) election.
“So, I will never disrespect them,” he added. – December 10, 2020.
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