It wants the government to provide a separate licence which only allows hard liquor to be sold from a specific outlet.
Speaking to FMT, its president, P David Marshel, said hard liquor at sundry shops and supermarkets were often sold at surprisingly cheap prices.
“This is the reason so many youths end up becoming alcoholics and die before the age of 40.”
David said since hard liquor was so cheap and accessible, it was easy for youths to purchase these drinks.
The law which prohibited sale of alcohol to those aged below 21 was not doing much, he said.
“There is no enforcement, that’s the problem.
“So, those who own supermarkets and sundry shops won’t stop kids from buying alcoholic drinks because at the end of the day it’s all about making money.”
He said allowing hard liquor to be sold at specific outlets would help with monitoring.
“If we see a minor entering the premises, then we know that the person is up to no good and we can easily stop him.
“We will be able to monitor these shops much better as we know that people going into these shops only intend to buy hard liquor and nothing else.”
He said the sale of beer in supermarkets and sundry shops was not as big a problem because although beer was cheap, it wasn’t easy to get drunk.
“So a minor will have to buy a lot of beer before he is able to get drunk because the alcoholic content is much lower than that of hard booze.”
David, who is also Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) councillor, said so far the Malaysian Anti-Cheap Liquor Movement had yet to receive a response from the Penang government.
“We hope the state government will consider our proposal as we are dealing with a problem that is affecting our children.”
Recently, Channel NewsAsia published a commentary written by Lambert Low, a consultant at the Institute of Mental Health’s National Addictions Management Service in Singapore.
Low said in the course of his clinical consultations, he had met young people who told him that they often purchased beer in three-litre containers called towers.
He said this was despite the fact that figures on problem drinking seem to suggest drinking is not a problem in Singapore. The 2010 Singapore Mental Health Study showed the alcohol abuse in the republic was at 3.1% and dependence rate 0.5%.
He said beer was cheaper to purchase at high volume. This enticed youths to buy a big amount of alcohol, which then predisposed them to binge drinking.
David did not give any statistics but claimed there was also a huge problem of youths involved in drinking in Malaysia.
Signboards put up in public parks to remind about alcohol ban