PAS Selangor has not demanded the state government to impose a blanket ban on the sale of alcohol beverages, claimed its chief Dr Hasan Ali today.

Taking a swipe at Chinese newspapers, the state exco said he 'deeply regrets' that they quoted certain sources in their reports regarding the matter.

hasan ali umno pas selangor talk quality hotel 300708 06 "It (the reports) gave the impression that PAS Selangor is not sensitive to the presence of people of other races and faiths in the state, when PAS is not like that.

"What is being worked on is to enforce the existing laws and regulations (regarding the sale of alcohol) and not to introduce something new," he told a press conference in Shah Alam.

Previously, it was reported that the Islamic-based PAS, which is one of three component parties in the opposition alliance, is pushing for a statewide ban on alcohol.

The issue became a hot topic after receiving prominent coverage in the Chinese media.

Following this, Selangor Mentri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the state did not intend to impose a blanket ban on the sale of alcohol but was seeking to step up enforcement on existing restrictions.

On Nov 27, Malaysiakini reported that the PAS councillor who was behind the proposal for a blanket ban, reversed his decision at the last minute as he did not want the issue to be politicised

Mohd Termizi Ismail said he was initially planning to push forward the proposal at the Klang City Council (MPK) monthly meeting the day before.

He said he had to cancel his plan after he was advised that the proposal could become controversial if it was blown out of proportion.

Stricter regulations

On the stricter regulations being considered, Hassan said: "We are now looking at a proposal to restrict the selling of liquor that has more than 5.8 percent of alcohol content openly, especially in convenient stores, 7-Eleven outlets and sundry shops."

He said that the state government is in the midst of gathering feedback from the store operators regarding this.

"We are not putting the proposal on hold. As of now, we are gathering feedback from the outlet operators.

"For example, if the area has 90 percent of Muslims, we would like them to tell us why they still want to sell alcohol there?" he added.

He said the sale of alcohol should be in accordance with Section 18, Syariah Offences Enactment (Selangor) 1995 that disallows Muslims from buying alcohol and those who sell alcohol to Muslims will be punished.