AT RM10 to RM15 a bottle, Ramesh, a Nepali security guard, said bootleg liquor is all he could afford to take his mind off his anxieties.

Told about how it could harm his body as well as the possibility of methanol poisoning, Ramesh, who only wanted to be known by his first name, said he had too many worries about his family back in his homeland.

“I have not been able to send much money back home since I switched jobs due to the pandemic and it bothers me everyday whether my wife and kids have enough to eat,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Methanol poisoning from illegally made liquor recently killed 33 people last month alone. The deaths were out of a total of 55 cases of methanol poisoning reported to health authorities, with most occurring in highly urbanised Selangor.

It is not the first time, as sporadic episodes of methanol poisoning have been reported since the first major event involving 41 people was reported in Selangor in 2013.

In 2018, another major episode occurred involving 98 cases, out of which 45 people died. Most of them were foreign workers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Nepal.

Cheap, illegal liquor is popular among the poor and migrant workers in Malaysia, where alcohol duty is high.

Lawmakers told The Malaysian Insight producers and suppliers should pay, while the authorities should do more to enforce against illegal production and sales.

“This issue has been going on for a long time but no severe action has been taken by the authorities,” said Klang MP Charles Santiago.

He said the methanol poisoning deaths last month should be yet another wake-up call for the government as all the fatalities occurred in a span of three weeks.

He said authorities should find out the places where liquor is made and sold illegally, and conduct frequent raids.

“The punishment given to suppliers should also be published to create fear and awareness about the consequences one would face for supplying and selling it.”

Santiago, whose constituency has many factories and the peninsula west coast’s main port, has a large community of migrant workers.

According to him, sales of bootleg alcohol were high during the lockdowns as many workers lost their jobs.

“Thousands lost their jobs and bootleg alcohol became their only option as it is cheaper,” he said.

Batu Kawan MP P. Kasthuriraani also said there has been no proper effort by the government to address bootleg liquor and methanol poisoning.

“If the recent cases are neglected again, there will only be more cases and deaths in the near future due to the availability of bootleg alcohol,” she said.

She agreed that more raids should be made on convenience stores that sell cheap alcohol.

Kasthuriraani also raised concerns that suppliers are now targeting the younger generation by having many choices of flavours.

“People in my constituency have told me that bootleg alcohol now consists of many sweet flavours, which attracts underaged drinkers.”

The effects of methanol poisoning are on the central nervous system and can result in blindness, seizures and coma.

The making of counterfeit and contraband liquor is an offence under the Customs Act 1967 and the Excise Act 1976.

The Customs Act pertains to the evasion of tax duty, while the Excise Act punishes an offender for selling illegal liquor, making it and possessing liquor-making equipment.

For selling illegal liquor, an offender can be fined not more than RM50,000. For possessing equipment to distill alcohol, the penalty is imprisonment for not more than three years, a fine not less than RM5,000 but not exceeding RM20,000, or both jail and a fine.

Ramesh’s friend, a Bangladesh worker named Kadir, said migrant workers can only afford bootleg alcohol to relieve stress.

“We do not earn much and given the commitments we have to send money home, this is the only type of alcohol we can purchase.

“I know it can damage the body so I don’t consume it very often. But I do see younger migrant workers, like those in their 20s, buying it almost every two or three days,” Kadir said.

The liquor is “extremely easy” to purchase, he added. – October 13, 2021.