IT’S the government’s job to grease the wheels for businesses to stay afloat, especially the smaller ones, as Malaysians struggle with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic

The new 2021 liquor guidelines have banned the sale of hard liquor in all sundry shops, convenience stores and Chinese medicine shops in KL.

The ruling was predictably swiftly executed and involved no consultation with stakeholders. And it’s also clearly an infringement of minority rights.

Rules on liquor sale have been racking up. Oktoberfest events, which were allowed previously, have since been banned, too.

Recently, DBKL announced a freeze on all new liquor licence applications with immediate effect. So, yet another ruling on the sale of hard liquor.

Beer will still be sold at Chinese medicine shops and convenience stores, although only available from 7am – 9pm and placed away from non-alcoholic beverages.

Another ruling indicates that liquor sale won’t be allowed on premises facing police stations, places of worship, schools and hospitals.

So, if you’ve been operating such a business for decades, in front of a police station, for example, now, you’ll have to close shop because of this new ruling.

It takes effect in October 2021, which means these stores have about 10 months to adjust.

Shorter operating hours have also been imposed on pubs, bars and restaurants in KL. Most of us want to unwind after work, and in KL, that’s not 5pm. Besides, socialising only begins after 9pm.

KL is also an international city, so many tourists in the Bukit Bintang area obviously want to stay out late.

I would have expected such a ruling to come from PAS-run states like Kelantan and Terengganu, but not KL, what with its huge non-Muslim population.

The irony is that while DBKL has decided to clamp down on these small businesses, liquor can still be sold in restaurants, bars, hotels, commercial complexes, warehouses and supermarkets.

I can’t tell if we’re supposed to be grateful to DBKL for this discretion, but this is where something seems to have gone askew – you can buy and drink hard liquor from these outlets, but not from your neighbourhood convenience stores and Chinese medicine shops.

And why are Chinese medicine shops being targeted? They are mostly patronised by Chinese, if not 99.9%, and with their business dwindling, many have converted parts of their shops to sell general food items as well as hard liquor.

Strangely, wine has now become classified as hard liquor. Most drinkers would likely beg to differ because it’s accepted as part of food matching. Champagne is used for celebrations, mostly.

For the ignorant, including PAS MP Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh, who has since apologised, liquor consumption isn’t banned in the Bible.

As we all know, the first miracle performed by Jesus was to turn water into wine at a wedding, and there are many references to the use of wine in the Bible, too. Many churches in Europe still practise using wine for holy communion, although Ribena is mostly used in Malaysia.

Here’s the biggest myth – most Malaysians are killed on the road from drink driving. But the facts say they die from not wearing helmets.

Statistics indicate that 60% of motorcycle fatalities happen in rural settings, which presumably have no liquor or convenience stores selling hard liquor. Not even beer.

These victims were also not drunk or intoxicated. Most were either not wearing helmets, or just bad motorists.

Malaysia has the highest road accident death rate in Asean and the third highest in Asia. The World Health Organisation’s 2013 statistics portrayed Malaysia among the emerging countries with the riskiest roads after Thailand and South Africa.

Malaysia registered a death rate of 23 per 100,000 population. Based on these statistics against the estimated population of 30 million, 7,000 to 8,000 people die on our roads every year. And more than 50% of road accident fatalities involve motorcyclists. According to findings by the International Association of Traffic and Safety Sciences, the highest number of motorcycle fatalities occur in rural locations (61%), primary roads (62%) and straight road sections (66%).

“The majority are riders (89%), 16 to 20 years old (22.5%), and 90% of the motorcycles are privately owned.

“Of those involved in fatal accidents, 75% of the motorcyclists wear helmets, and 35% do not have proper licences.

“The highest number of fatalities by type of collision is ‘angular or side’ (27.5%).”

Bukit Aman Investigation and Traffic Enforcement director, Datuk Azisman Alias said that between January and June 2019,281,527 accidents were reported in the country. This number is a 2.5% increase from 2018, which saw 274,556 accidents in the same period.

Our motorcyclists are the biggest culprits, and victims, too. They account for two-thirds of road crash fatalities and sadly, the majority are teenagers. These are the ones who consider wearing a helmet optional

Yet strangely, liquor has taken the rap for accidents. Following some high-profile cases of drink driving, which unfortunately involved policemen as victims, these tragedies have been cited for a clamp down on liquor sales.

It’s probably to please PAS since the Islamist government is now a part of the ruling Federal Government and many state governments.

So, we have the likes of the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Ahmad Marzuk Shaary and PAS leaders cheering DBKL’s decision, with the former saying the government hasn’t ruled out expanding KL’s liquor sale ban on these types of businesses to other states.

The Federal Territory has the highest alcohol consumption, followed by Sarawak and Sabah. That makes sense given KL’s huge non-Muslim population and its tourists.

According to reports by the International Organisation of Good Templars, Malaysia has the highest liquor tax worldwide at 15%.

Statistics show the total revenue tax on alcoholic beverages in Malaysia from 2012 to 2017 increased from RM1.4bil to RM1.9bil.

The Confederation of Malaysian Brewers Berhad estimates that the brewing industry in Malaysia alone supports 61,000 people in direct or indirect employment, while taxes, salaries and profits are equal to 0.3% of gross domestic product. They also pay hundreds of millions in corporate tax and other taxes, including SST and GST.

But the biggest challenge after this will be the prevalence of illicit liquor, which will be a threat to national tax revenue, estimated at RM1.5bil in losses to the government, which already desperately needs revenue.

The DBKL move has left a bitter taste in many in KL, especially when the food and beverage industry has taken a severe beating.

It’s a malaise rooted deep in the legacy of our political forefathers, and we want none of it.

IT’S common knowledge that the ringgit’s value has depreciated. Anyone needing to purchase foreign currencies for trade and travel purposes can vouch for that.

So, when Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal suggested that Bank Negara print more money notes to give to the people to spend, brickbats came flying at him.

The Bersatu Youth chief was invited by BFM Radio to share his thoughts on Budget 2021’s impact on the young, especially the B40, or Bottom 40% tier of low-income earners. I listened closely to the recording of the interview online titled “Wan Fayhsal: BNM Should Print Money.”

In impeccable English, he spoke about the plight of the young, expressing concern that some of those in M40 (middle group) are slipping into B40.

It was a quick point he shared, but one that has turned Wan Ahmad into the butt of jokes. He suggested what’s called helicopter money policy, where the central bank can directly print money and give it to people to spend, adding that it was “quite doable” and “we just need an innovative policy from the central bank.”

It doesn’t help that neither economics nor finance are the forte of this former lecturer, who specialises in geopolitics and security, which he studied at the prestigious King’s College in London.

He’s also a trained chemical engineer from Universiti Teknologi Petronas and was an employee of the national oil and gas company. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t comment on other issues including economics, like journalists, who are jack-of-all-trades but masters of none, as the saying goes. But do your homework, at least.

Printing money won’t help the economy and will further diminish the ringgit’s value. It leads to inflation and reduced purchasing power, and ultimately, less wealth.

The difference in the United States is that it can afford to print the green notes because it’s in demand and is used as the standard global trading currency. It’s the only country making money from printing currency notes. But for bankers and economists, printing money doesn’t mean handing out cash to the people. And it’s not the Zimbabwean way, for sure.

The ordinary worker worries about getting retrenched, facing a pay cut, being unable to pay bills and servicing loan instalments.They are wary of spending, which consequently renders restaurants the casualties of this socioeconomic structure.

The well-heeled talk about withdrawing their savings from banks because the interest rates are too low. Lower interest rates make it easier to apply for a loan to buy assets such as houses and cars, but it being approved is an entirely different story.

The affluent are also exchanging tips on which stocks to buy and what foreign currencies to cash in on, instead of cradling the weak ringgit.

Speaking economically, there’s plenty of liquidity, meaning there’s a lot of money going around. The rich and upper middle class can’t travel, so they trade at the stock market. In fact, the Bursa is doing very well, some stocks particularly.

Governments are looking at quantitative easing (QE) or creating currency. Central banks create new money electronically and don’t print money for distribution to the people. The Bank of England, for example, determines how much should be in circulation, but they’re not physical bank notes. They are electronically generated to support government bonds.

Bonds are a kind of investment, where you lend money to the government and it pledges a repayment with an interest in a stipulated timeframe. In many countries, investors buy government bonds as it’s regarded a safe instrument with the public expecting the government to repay.

According to the BBC, the first QE programme in the UK was launched in 2009 when the financial crisis was threatening the economy, unemployment was rising, and the stock markets were in freefall.

“The Bank subsequently launched new rounds of QE after the eurozone debt crisis, the Brexit referendum and the coronavirus pandemic. Other countries started QE programmes after 2009, including the US and Japan.”

It said the government will spend well over £300bil on fighting the coronavirus pandemic this year, through measures such as the furlough scheme, support for businesses and extra funding for the NHS.

“That means it has to borrow hundreds of billions of pounds, which it does by issuing bonds. The fact that at the same time the Bank of England is buying hundreds of billions of pounds’ worth of bonds helps the government to raise that money.

“The Bank doesn’t buy directly from the government, it buys from other investors, but its actions make government borrowing cheaper and easier.”

The news agency explained that the government also pays lesser interests on bonds by the Bank of England than other institutions, taking further pressure off public finances.

In another news report, Kameel Mydin Meera, a former dean of the Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance at the International Islamic University Malaysia, believes the government should opt for QE. He said the government’s move to raise its debt ceiling will give it more room to borrow money for programmes to stimulate economic recovery. However, he believes Putrajaya should opt for a different approach.

“QE allows the government to increase the supply of money in the economy without borrowing. It involves printing or creating new ringgit and the idea is to boost spending within the economy and in doing so, stimulate the economy.”

Former Finance Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim equated Wan Ahmad Fayhsal’s idea of printing more money as handouts to “Aladdin’s magic carpet.”

“Bank Negara will not do that because it is not what central banks do. Central banks around the world do print money, but it’s not for the government to distribute the currency notes around, ” he said.

The highly respected economist said central banks use the money to settle debts, including bonds the government or the private sector issue.

“The bonds that a central bank holds become its asset to balance against the liability of the notes that it issued. When a central bank buys the bonds, it is effectively lending the money to the issuer, which could be the government or private sector.

“When a central bank does this, it is putting more liquidity into the economy – it is like adding the engine oil to get the car to run. No central bank prints money like Santa Clauses to distribute candies for children during Christmas, ” he texted this writer.

In our country, financial knowledge is low with almost 70% of Malaysians in need of education on the subject, according to a survey by financial literacy platform Multiply. It found that 21% were ranked Finance Newbies – those who don’t know the basics of personal finance, while another 48% were ranked Finance Cadets – those who have just begun to learn the ropes.

Communication by our leaders and policy makers is also poor. It’s reflected in how Covid-19 decisions are made and carried out. With flip flop calls, down-liners like policemen and enforcement officials of councils invariably receive vague guidelines. That’s why they’ve been constantly issuing summons, which has upset the public. Then there are the double standards, which has fittingly earned our ire.

So, Malaysians won’t entertain politicians talking about “printing money” without explaining it well.

Wan Ahmad Fayshal has put his foot in his mouth too often. He has called for the abolishment of vernacular schools, claiming these schools have failed to instil a strong sense of national identity in students.

He later said he merely called for it to be institutionalised, missing the obvious point that it’s already institutionalised because vernacular schools are government funded and part of the education system.

Wan Ahmad Fayshal is only 33 and has a future in politics, but he has grabbed the headlines for all the wrong reasons with his poor arguments and ineffective communication.

At the minute, he’s perceived as lacking progressive ideas and preferring to play the racial card, just like the rest of the old school politicians, the ones Malaysians are fed-up with.

It’s still about race, patronage politics and giving handouts. Sadly, for a young politician we hope can offer a fresh perspective, he’s starting out like a chip off the old guard’s block.

Malaysians are now living in unusual times and they don’t have the patience to deal with politicians like him.

Why seek rib-tickling fun only in predictable spots when they can also be found in unexpected places – like Dewan Rakyat.

IF Bintulu Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Tiong Kin Seng intended to grab the headlines, then the Gabungan Parti Sarawak politician got what he wanted.

DAP lawmakers also predictably dived into the brouhaha in the Dewan Rakyat, and naturally, Jelutong DAP RSN Rayer got himself kicked out for refusing to heed Deputy Speaker Datuk Seri Azalina Othman’s call to sit down.

All this over a silly remark – yes, I repeat, a silly remark – made by Tiong, who asked if Health director general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah feared for his life because of the coronavirus.

The Dewan Rakyat descended into a shouting match after Tiong claimed Dr Noor Hisham didn’t go down to the ground in Sabah when Covid-19 cases were at an all-time high in the state.

He asked if Dr Noor was “afraid to die” and went on to say that “the DG just does news every day.”

“If it’s just the news, even the office boy can read. Why didn’t he go down to the ground?” Tiong said during his debate on Budget 2021 in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday.

It is strange that Tiong had picked on Dr Noor Hisham for having the daily press conference but did not say the same about Senior Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who also does the same. If Tiong had done some homework, he would realise both were acting on instructions from the top.

Civil servants and to some extent, the media, are always easy targets for politicians. Civil servants can’t engage in verbal spats while reporters consign attacks from politicians to occupational hazard.

This writer also wears the badge of honour for criticisms by MPs from both benches. Police reports have also been made and in one case, a low-ranking PAS member continuously sent me death threats.

I had to lodge a police report, and the Special Branch did a superb job in tracing the sender of those threats to a small town in Perak, but I let the matter slide.

Despite his defiance, I chose to forgive the man in his 70s, who was angry that I disagreed to the setting up of an Islamic State in Malaysia. Credit to him, he eventually stopped.

The police had to visit my home to advise my family on the nature of these threats. There were other threats along the way, and in different forms, too.

So, last week, Tiong chose to pick on Dr Noor Hisham. He could have phrased his grouses better, but he preferred to sound like a bully and made dubious accusations.

Basically, he got carried away, like with many politicians who think they are God-sent the moment a microphone is handed to them.

But tipping the scale, it was a captive audience in the Dewan Rakyat. And reporters were there, too, though they were dozing off listening to the mostly mundane speeches while in search of an interesting story.

Well, the media can always count on the likes of Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (Pasir Salak), Datuk Seri Bung Mokhtar Radin (Kinabatangan) and of course, Rayer and some DAP MPs to provide comic relief to the otherwise august house.

Without any disrespect or insinuation to anyone, past or present, I have known of many former MPs who banged on pots and pans to get themselves suspended because they had business matters to attend to, including court cases.

I’ve had the privilege of covering the Dewan Rakyat for a long time, even when some of the present batch of MPs were still in primary school or kindergarten.

As an afterthought, or perhaps he was instructed to, Tiong then issued a statement to clarify that he “did not intend to maliciously target” Dr Noor Hisham, adding that DAP MPs such as Jelutong MP RSN Rayer shouldn’t twist his words for seemingly cheap publicity in the alleged guise of defending civil servants.

“Rather, my words reflect the frustrations of the frontliners and the people for the past several months, ” Tiong claimed in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Thursday night.

Tiong further criticised the federal government for drafting “ambiguous” Covid-19 SOPs that have led to the police issuing RM1,000 fines for perceived infractions, such as over-crowding in the front, even when the vehicle only carries two people, the driver and a passenger.

He’s right, but he should take those questions to Inspector General of Police as well as Ismail Sabri.

I don’t recall Tiong speaking about Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Dr Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali for allegedly violating a 14-day mandatory home quarantine order.

Where was the displayed bravado then, or was it not politically correct to take on a fellow friendly MP, particularly a minister in Parliament?

Tiong also missed an important point – the politicians who campaigned in the recent Sabah state elections broke all the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and it was their indifference that has fed the pandemic.

Dr Noor Hisham responded saying he’s “not afraid to die” and clarified that he and his team had gone to the ground in Sabah to check on the Covid-19 situation.

He defended allegations that he hadn’t visited the state, adding that he had been there at the end of August to check on the management and preparations prior to the Sabah state elections.

He also noted that Deputy Director-General for Public Health Datuk Dr Chong Chee Keong, too, had gone to check on the situation in Sabah just last week, while the Prime Minister’s special adviser on public health Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood was also in Sabah two weeks ago.

“The issue that we are afraid to die does not arise. As a Muslim, we accept that death can happen anywhere, not just whether we go to the ground or not.

“What is important is for us to do our duty. Our purpose is to break the chain of infection in the country. We can have our differences, but what is important is to break the chain of infection so that we can save the country from an increase of cases and the death rates, ” he said during his daily press briefing on Wednesday.

If Malaysians expect to see quality debates in the Dewan Rakyat, they can forget about it.

Dr Noor Hisham, like many of his counterparts, have not taken a single day off since March, when the pandemic broke.

Those who know him well can tell you that his daily press conference is a directive. If he had his way, he’d rather post a press release on the ministry website.

Echoing the sentiments of an apt social media message that went viral recently, the cinemas may have been shut down following the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO), but the Dewan Rakyat is still open for entertainment, especially of the comedic variety.

Hopefully, some of our MPs will see the light. I take this occasion to wish all readers, and especially our frontliners who celebrate Deepavali, a happy, blessed and safe one. May the festival of lights fill our lives. Happy Deepavali!