Pakatan Harapan MPs, especially those from the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur, took issue with his statement, as he also tried to deflect the blame to his predecessor, Annuar Musa.
In the winding-up speech for his ministry today, Shahidan spoke of how other countries, including Singapore, imposed similar restrictions that were accepted by non-Muslim religious organisations.
At this juncture, he was interrupted by Tan Kok Wai (PH-Cheras) who reminded Shahidan of a promise he made to PH MPs, of a “win-win solution” on the liquor ban issue during a meeting last month.
“We were promised a win-win solution, but what we got so far is similar to the one given by the former minister (Annuar). You are being insincere in this issue. Is the promise of a win-win solution an empty one?” asked Tan.
Teresa Kok (PH-Seputeh) then interjected and questioned DBKL for discriminating against grocers and convenience stores when restaurants, pubs, bars, malls and supermarkets are still allowed to sell alcoholic beverages.
She also accused the minister of contradicting his own rationale by saying that consuming liquor is bad for society, when some businesses continue to sell alcoholic beverages.
Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong) then stood up and questioned Shahidan over the timing of the ban, asking if it was politically motivated in light of the Melaka state election.
In response to these questions from the opposition MPs, Shahidan accused them of seeking “cheap publicity” over the liquor ban issue.
“I am merely continuing the policies implemented by my predecessor (Annuar). Besides, grocers and convenience stores can still apply for a licence to sell liquor in their stores, and DBKL will process their applications on a case-by-case basis,” he said.
Khalid Samad (PH-Shah Alam) then stood up to slam the minister for using the same excuse and deflecting blame.
“Don’t use your predecessor as an excuse,” the former federal territories minister said, adding that the liquor ban was imposed without consulting the grocers and convenience stores.
Annuar imposed a temporary ban on new liquor licenses in Kuala Lumpur last year and justified the ban by citing several road accidents and fatalities allegedly involving drink driving during the conditional movement control order (CMCO) period.
Meanwhile, Ngeh Koo Ham (PH-Beruas) warned that the case-by-case processing of the licence application to sell liquor by grocers and convenience stores would lead to favouritism.
“You will have those who have the right connections having their application approved, while other businesses would not get the same treatment,” he said.
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Ind-Muar) asked Shahidan to have a study done to find the source of liquor purchased by KL folks involved in drunk driving incidents.
“Find out from where they are buying these alcoholic beverages from. Are they buying from bars, restaurants or convenience stores? We seem to go after the small businesses while we are letting big businesses off the hook,” he said.
The ban on selling liquor at grocers, convenience stores and Chinese medical halls in Kuala Lumpur was enforced on Nov 1. While customers can still purchase beer at such premises, it can only be sold between 7am and 9pm.
The ban, which was announced last November and was supposed to start on Oct 1, was temporarily suspended for a study DBKL was said to be conducting.