Health Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam is quoted as saying his ministry will make an announcement on the issue after 'one or two technical issues are resolved.' ― Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 — Enforcement of a new law on the sale and display of compounded hard liquor (CHL) had been put on hold by the Health Departments in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor to give manufacturers and retailers more time to adapt.

The Star reported that an internal notice on the postponement was issued last November 28 by the Health Ministry's Food and Safety and Quality Division to all health offices in the state and federal territory, with no new date given for enforcement.

The November 30 memo signed by Selangor deputy health director (Food Safety and Quality Division) Azhar Ahmad did not state the reason nor duration of the suspension.

Health Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam was reported to have said that his ministry will make an announcement on the issue after “one or two technical issues are resolved.”.

The Star also reported interest groups said the new regulations would be ineffective without enforcement.

Malaysian Anti-Cheal Liquor Movement president P. David Marshel was reported saying retailers and manufacturers will not abide by the new rule so long as there’s no enforcement.

“This is a complete U-turn from what they (Government) promised. Regulations without enforcement are useless. I am very disappointed to hear about this.

“We have discovered hypermarkets, sundry shops and Chinese medicine outlets are still selling cheap liquor in small bottles; and the mandatory signage and warning labels were not displayed,” he was quoted saying, claiming to have made ransom visits to retailers to collect data on the effect of the new law.

The daily also reported a non-government organisation, Malaysian Tamil Kural, warning that the government’s delay in enforcing the new regulation will result in persisting social menace particularly to the lower-income ethnic Indians.

“There must be political will to stop this problem and not a half-hearted attempt by the government.

“Youths as young as 13 are already consuming cheap liquor and this does not bode well for families and society,” the group's Kuala Lumpur and Selangor chairman Annadurai Subramaniam was quoted saying.

The new law on alcohol purchase and consumption, gazetted on May 27, 2016, was to come into effect on December 1, 2017.

The amendments on the Regulation 361 of the Food and Regulation Act 1985 (on general standards for alcoholic beverages) made it mandatory for alcohol retailers to place warnings and notices that state 'drinking alcohol is harmful to health', accompanied with signs that sales would not be made for those below 21 years-old, which previously was set at 18.

The new rule also requires that CHL to be sold in glass bottles with a minimum content of 700ml, which would increase the tax of each CHL bottle between RM40 and RM50, compared to previously where the liquor could be bought for as low as RM5.