updated version

PAS must revoke the ban on liquor sales imposed by a district council in the party-controlled state of Kelantan or risk compounding the 'troubles' looming over its concept of an Islamic state.

DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang said the Kelantan state government must lift the ban and also issue a directive to all local councils to prevent a similar situation from arising elsewhere in the state.

The Star reported today that copies of a directive prohibiting the sale of liquor signed by Tanah Merah district council secretary Ruslan Hassan were hand-delivered to several Chinese-owned coffee shops and restaurants.

The Aug 8 directive gave the owners a grace period of 15 days to clear their stocks.

In the same report, the daily also quoted Kelantan local government and public administration committee chairman Takiyuddin Hassan as saying that he was not aware of any move to curb alcohol sales by the state government.

"Despite this, it still has to be established whether the ban was a unilateral council decision violating the policy of the state government or not," said Lim.

Compatibility issue

He added that this incident raised the issue of compatibility between the Islamic state concept touted by PAS with the tolerance that is needed in a multi-racial and multi-religious country like Malaysia.

"The latest controversy will reinforce the conviction of those who hold that PAS' concept of an Islamic state is not compatible with parliamentary democracy, power-sharing in a plural society, human rights, individual freedoms, women's right and social tolerance," he warned.

Leaders from both parties have been crossing swords over PAS' notion to establish an Islamic state should it come into power.

DAP has even threatened to pull out of the opposition Barisan Alertnatif front and meetings between the two parties to reach an agreement on this issue have so far failed.

DAP claimed that its association with PAS in the BA coalition was the cause of its losses in the 1999 general elections.

Two of its stalwarts, Lim and deputy chairman Karpal Singh, were defeated in their traditional strongholds by Barisan Nasional candidates. Karpal is the party's most vocal opponent of the Islamic state concept.

Meanwhile, Takiyuddin when contacted later said that Pas had not changed its policy concerning liquor in Kelantan.

The current policy prohibits people from consuming liquor in public but permits the sale of liquor and other alcoholic beverages, he said.

Takiyuddin added that the ban in Tanah Merah is being investigated.