For too long, responsible consumers of alcohol beverages in Malaysia have been subject to one of the highest prices in the world for these drinks, whether on-trade (outlets) or off-trade (retail).

Currently, the high prices consumers face causes them to burn holes in their pockets, even for casual and irregular drinkers.

The government needs to do a study and consider lowering the excessive duties imposed on beer and imported liquor, and instead increase the duty for locally-made compounded hard liquor.

The reasons this needs to be done:

1. The per-capita income for Malaysians is still so low and yet we still need to pay for premium prices for normal drinks. Eg: Local beer at a bar costs between RM10 - RM20, and imported beer RM15 - RM30.

In most countries, beer and soft drinks are about the same price-wise. Even tourists complain of the prices here.

2. High prices cause Malaysians to drink cheap and dangerous backyard brews like samsu , because they have been priced-out of the market for normal, safe alcohol. Many local producers don’t have any safety standards or quality checks.

3. High prices also lead people to substitute alcohol for drugs. Drugs like ecstasy, aramin and such are widely available. Because of expensive alcohol, these drugs provide intoxication at much better value-for-money.

4. The government does not do studies on the impact of the prices. By increasing the duty, many F&B outlets that survive on volume will be greatly affected as less people will drink. Even worse, some outlets will be forced to shut down. That will further reduce the employment in the market.

5. Smuggling and related illegal activities are very high in Malaysia due to the high taxes. Legitimate importers lose out. Also smuggled products are often fake or expired.

6. The majority of Malaysians are responsible and social drinkers. Moderate drinking is a form of recreation, and many drinkers are professionals. However, any concern about the effects of becoming an alcoholic should be addressed via education, not more taxes. Example, if motorcyclists are killed on the road, you don’t solve the problem by banning motorcycles.

8. The government should give out legal brewing licenses to serious investors so that they can monitor the industry, rather then just preventing new brewing licenses to limit the capacity. Many foreigners are tempted to open on-site microbreweries (within the outlet) in Malaysia but because of the restriction of license, all have turned away to neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. We miss out legitimate and tourist-attracting businesses to our neighbours.

Thus, we call upon the government, importers, distributors and F&B outlets to attend to the unsustainable situation Malaysian consumers face, and make sincere and effective efforts to price alcohol beverages at a lot more reasonable levels, in accordance with the public’s per-capita income.