The Selangor state government has today instructed Subang Jaya Municipal Council to retract its new licensing guideline that bans Muslims from working in entertainment establishments, a day after Komunitikini highlighted the issue.
State housing and local government exco member Ronnie Liu confirmed with Komunitikini that a directive was issued to MPSJ council president Md Adnan Ikhsan this morning to withdraw the guideline.
“We were not consulted (on the matter). That’s why we have asked them to withdraw it first,” Liu said.
Liu, who is the Pandamaran assemblyman, posted a comment to the Komunitikini report an hour ago, saying “the state has advised the YDP (Council president) of MPSJ to withdraw the new conditions intended for renewal of licences for the pubs. The state was not consulted in this matter”.
He said the issue was raised in the state exco meeting yesterday and the exco have agreed to issue such directive.
He, however, did not want to comment on whether MPSJ is authorised under Syariah law to stipulate such a condition in its licensing guidelines.
“(The guideline) is just not practical. If all of them have to be retrenched, who is going to find jobs for them?” he told Komunitkini.
Yesterday, Komunitikini reported that MPSJ had introduced a new licensing guideline that bans entertainment establishments from employing Muslim workers, following Section 18 (2) of the Syariah Criminal Enactment of Selangor.
The new condition was tabled last year as part of “self-initiated improvements”, MPSJ’s public relations department said.
Sashidaran Gunathevan
Admin
