ALCOHOL SALE AND MINORITY RIGHTS

There is trouble brewing within Pakatan Rakyat - and it is all about Alcohol. Could it not have been some more important issue?

It seems that Shah Alam City Council has already decided to ban alcohol sales from January 2009. It was decided at its meeting last month

Meanwhile Malaysiakini learnt that the Shah Alam City Council will be the first local council which will curb the sale of alcohol in Selangor, effective next January.

Sources said that the council had agreed to proceed with this at its meeting last month. - Malaysiakini, 25/11/2008, Alcohol ban: Trouble brewing in Pakatan

Now, let us not forget that these are the persons hand-picked by the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor government and appointed as Local Councilors - not persons elected through Local Council Elections.

We wonder why we did not know about this, which was decided last month - October 2008 (It is 25/11/2008 today).

Several Questions that we must consider:-

a) What are the powers of Local Council's?

b) How do Local Council make decisions generally? Do their decision have to be gazetted, etc..? [Sadly, I do not see their minutes and decisions in their websites...- WHY?]

c) Do the people have a role in the decision-making of Local Councils? Do the people have a right to be heard before a Local Council makes a decision?

d) How do people in the affected area appeal against a decision of a Local Council?

e) Who can quash a decision of the Local Council?

The State government should NOT interfere in affairs of the Local Council, save in certain FEW matters of great importance that should be clearly defined in law. The independence of the Local Council should be recognized and respected.

This is the same as the principle that the Federal Government should not interfere in matters and affairs of the State.

It is sad that the fingers are being pointed at PAS - Why is that? Are we not all Pakatan Rakyat now? It was the Pakatan Rakyat Local Council in Shah Alam that decided....LAST MONTH (according to the Malaysiakini report...)

Apparently, DAP also missed it...PKR also missed it....until now when Malaysiakini brought it up.

I am shocked about the manner in which Tony Pua, the DAP's Publicity Secretary chose to respond...

* Hello, you only got 8 seats ....out of the 36 seats, we got more - we all know that people voted PR, not the individual political parties. And this approach taken is so 'childish'

* Hey...half the population is non-Muslim ...non-Malay. Should it even matter when it is a question of rights. Even if there are 1 or 100 only, it matters not. Pua's arguement means that it is OK for sale of alcohol to be banned in other states where there are very few non-Muslims...non-Malays. Also, not all non-Muslims buy and consume alcohol...and there are some Muslims and Malays that do.

Seeing red over the matter, DAP publicity secretary Tony Pua reminded PAS that Selangor was ruled by a joint government and the Islamic party only controlled eight of the 36 state seats won by Pakatan Rakyat in the March 8 polls.

"Therefore, any attempts by Selangor PAS to flex its muscles without due regard to its fellow coalition partners would be deemed as arrogant and uncooperative," he said in a statement today.

...In view of this, he urged PAS to respect the spirit of multi-racialism since almost half of the population in Selangor comprised non-Muslims and non-Malays.... - Malaysiakini, 25/11/2008, Alcohol ban: Trouble brewing in Pakatan

The BN divided us according to race and ethnicity.....Malay, Chinese, Indian......Bumi-Non-Bumi..., and also religion.

What is Pakatan Rakyat trying to propagate now....a Muslim-Non-Muslim kind of divide...mmmm

The issue should be resolved based on numbers...or who has the majority...but based on human rights and respect...

Talking about respect...it should also be considered whether BEEF should no longer be served at official functions. We have so many other meat and fish options.... (Pork is "Haram", while the cow is an holy creature - and consumption of it at Pakatan Rakyat and other PR State Official functions must be stopped out of respect....or why bother, after all the Hindu Indians and them Buddhists are too few in number...mmm