“I’m sure it’s going to affect business, but the sale of hard liquor makes up only about 5% of our monthly sales,” said a worker at the Foh Hin Pharmacy and Mini Mart in Kuchai Lama.
“We sell about RM1,000 to RM2,000 of it a month, but in general, sales have dropped 30% since the MCO (movement control order) started in March.”
He said his shop might have to clear out its stock at bargain prices with the enforcement of the ban.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) announced its 2021 liquor licence guidelines on Monday. Beer as well as pure and mixed liquor products in traditional medicines will be exempt from the ban.
Beer can be sold at these premises from 7am to 9pm but must be placed separately from other beverages.
The owner of a Chinese medicine shop in Taman Desa did not seem disturbed by the announcement.
“It won’t really make a difference to me,” she said. “People do not really buy from our shops any more. They prefer getting their drinks from specialised liquor and wine shops or supermarkets nowadays.
“We hardly buy new stock anyway.”
She said migrant workers used to be regular customers but most were now buying the cheap and easy-to-find fake and smuggled booze.
A worker at a sundry shop a few doors away said the ban would have little effect on his employer’s bottom line.
“It’s hard to sell even one bottle a month nowadays,” he said. “Hard liquor sales were not good even before the MCO. Business has been down by 40% or 50% since then.”
Albert Chooi, the secretary of two trade groups, said the ban would affect the nearly 300 sundry and grocery shops, convenience stores and Chinese medicine shops that currently sell hard liquor in Kuala Lumpur.
Noting that relaxed conditions on the sale of liquor are a norm in almost every capital city in the world, Chooi said the ruling would result in decreased tax revenue for Kuala Lumpur.
Chooi, who is the secretary of the Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Wine and Spirit Chinese Dealer’s Association and Associated Liquor Merchants Association of the Federation of Malaya, was unhappy that the affected trade groups and businesses were not consulted before the ruling was announced.
“It’s ridiculous. What is the purpose of this ban? These retailers have been selling without a problem all this while, and now suddenly DBKL has issued this ruling. It’s going to make it harder for these people to make a living.”