(July 16): The Federal Territories (FT) Ministry has initiated action against standalone outlets selling liquor in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.

City Hall would not be renewing the licences of such outlets, Deputy FT Minister Datuk Dr Loga Bala Mohan told The Malaysian Insider.

He said the City Hall Licensing Department had issued notices to 11 premises in the area on April 10.

“We have already issued notices to the premises that those whose licences have expired will not be renewed.

“City Hall has decided that all standalone shops that sell liquor will be shut down,” he said.

Loga said the notices were issued by the City Hall Excise Licensing Board to shops in in Jalan Thambypillai and Jalan Tun Sambanthan.

“The licensing board committee meets four times a year to approve or deny liquor license applications. The committee comprises of police, customs and City Hall licensing officers.”

Pubs, supermarkets and mini-markets, however, were still allowed to sell liquor, he said.

“They can sell liquor, but if they don’t follow the stipulated time for the sale of liquor, we will revoke their licences.”

Loga said if the outlets persisted in selling liquor after their licenses were revoked, the Customs Department would take action.

He added that City Hall’s licensing department would continue to train its sight on Brickfields, which had the highest concentration of liquor outlets in the city.

“The menace is prevalent in Brickfields and we will continue to monitor the area. Another place we are looking at is Sentul,” he said.

The Malaysian Insider had previously reported that drunks were often seen creating a ruckus from Jalan Tun Sambanthan up to Jalan Scott during the wee hours.

Their presence and drunken actions have raised the ire of those living in the area, which is also home to Little India. Residents blame the cheap and readily available alcohol for the high number of drunks there.

A resident, who wanted to be known as Rajan, said  there were countless shops selling cheap alcohol in the vicinity and the authorities had done nothing about it up till now.

“Some shops are licensed to sell alcohol but they tend to misuse the license to sell cheap alcohol.”

Rajan had said that instead of taking action against those selling cheap alcohol on the sly, the authoritiies were issuing more permits for its sale.

“In Brickfields, even a small shop owner sells illegal alcohol. Where is the need for a licence?” he had said. – The Malaysian Insider