Cheap liquor not an Indian problem but a national one

MP laments that cheap liquor and 'samsu' are too easily available and the reason behind many cases of domestic abuse and social woes.

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP’s V. Sivakumar today voiced his dissatisfaction over the government’s lack of control and enforcement to curb the widespread availability of bootleg liquor otherwise known as ‘samsu’ which is getting out of control in Malaysia.

In a media briefing at Parliament lobby, the Batu Gajah MP said, “I don’t see any effort whatsoever by the government to curb this problem.

“Every time I go to my service centre (in Batu Gajah), I hear about this problem over and over again”, he said, adding that it was affecting the livelihood of families.

He alleged that the government often mistakenly limited this problem to the Indian community, when it should be addressed as a national issue.

“If one community is affected by a problem, it will eventually have a negative effect on another community,” he said.

Sivakumar said he had heard horror stories of the domestic abuse some women in his constituency endured due to living with their alcoholic husbands who consumed cheap liquor.

He said these men spent most of their earnings on liquor and when they ran out of cash, harassed the wives to give them more. He said that regretfully, many of these families were already poverty stricken.

In order to curb the incidence of alcoholism and addiction, Sivakumar suggested limiting the hours of alcohol purchase from 10am to 6pm at grocery stores, increasing the minimum selling price of liquor to RM30, banning public intoxication, and setting up alcoholic rehabilitation centres.

Besides requesting that visuals of the health hazards of consuming too much alcohol be incorporated into the labels of liquor bottles, he added, “Local councils or authorities have to be given the jurisdiction much like the Customs Department to take action against store owners who sell alcohol outside the allowed period.”

He said that more often than not, alcoholic substances were the gateway to intoxicating drugs, especially amongst youth. He said the government should be proactive in nipping the problem in the bud.

“I’m often saddened by the sight of men waiting outside the liquor shop just for it to open, and once opened, they stay until it (the shop) closes.”

“Even when the shop closes, sometimes these folks knock on the door to purchase more. This has to stop,” he added.