The Subang Jaya Municipal Council’s (MPSJ) ban on businesses which serve alcohol from hiring Muslims have been put on hold to avoid mass retrenchment.

Malaysiakini understands that this was decided during a special state exco meeting, chaired by Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, that was convened this afternoon to discuss the matter.

It is understood that the exco is in agreement that the ban must be implemented, but a safety net for Muslims who will lose their jobs as a result must be formulated first.

In 2009, MPSJ resolved to implement Section 18(2) of the Syariah Crimes Enactment 1995 which bars Muslims from working in premises that serve alcohol.

MPSJ has recently served notices to entertainment outlets informing them about the ban. Many business owners have cried foul and warned that many Muslims will be out of a job. 

Special fund

In a statement late this evening, Khalid did not explicitly state that the ban was put on hold.

Instead, he announced said that a special secretariat has been established to discuss the setting up of a special fund to help Muslim workers affected by the ban.

“(The secretariat) will meet the Selangor Zakat Board (LZS) to discuss this issue,” he said.

The secretariat will be led by exco members Hasan Ali, Yaakob Sapari, Dr Halimah Ali and Rodziah Ismail. Hasan is the exco member in charge of Islamic affairs.

“The state is aware that many Muslims who work in such establishments do so for economic reasons. Thus, the fund’s role is to ensure that they are not burdened by the enforcement of the ban,” he said.

Sufficient time will be given

Khalid does not explicitly specify that the ban had been put on hold but drops wide hints that this was so.

Firstly, he said that the purpose of the fund was to persuade Muslims not to work in such premises. Secondly, he said that he will be meeting all heads of local authorities to seek their views.  

“LZS will be asked to cooperate in establishing the special fund to help Muslim workers who are sedar (aware) to leave their jobs in businesses and entertainment outlets which serve alcohol,” he said.

Khalid stressed that the state government respects the state’s Syariah Criminal Enactment, the basis of the ban, which he said aims to ensure that Muslims derive their income from halal sources.

“At the same time, as a caring and fair government, we will give sufficient time to all parties, including affected businesses premises and workers,” he said.

Hasan lauds MPSJ

In a separate statement, Hasan congratulated MPSJ over the decision to enforce Section 18 (2) of the Syariah Crime Enactment 1995.

"I understand that they went through three rounds of discussions at the committee level and secured the approval of all quarters including non-Muslim council members," he said.

He hoped that the matter would be well-received by all and not be turned into a political issue.

He said that the enforcement of the law was necessary in order to curb alcohol consumption which is increasing among Muslims in the state.

"It must be stressed that this law is exclusive to Muslims and does not involve non-Muslims. Therefore, no party should be concerned with the implementation of the law," he said.

Yesterday, Selangor exco member in charge of local governments Ronnie Liu claimed that the MPSJ ban had been withdrawn because the matter was not approved by the state government. 

Read the related report How the ban came to be on our sister site Komunitikini.