SUCH is the trade-off mooted by renown political commentator Prof James Chin which Malaysian Hindu bodies and politicians should be mulling over in light of the alcohol ban brouhaha during the recent Tourism Malaysia-backed but-industry players-funded Global Travel Meet gala dinner.
This comes against the backdrop of Bersatu women wing’s chief Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin having urged the removal of Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing from his post in addition to issuing an open apology to all Malaysian Muslims over the matter.
She had directed her call at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who had earlier yesterday (Oct 7) issued a stern reprimand to the six-term Bintulu MP over the serving of alcohol at the said event.
“The government of the day is not consistent and hypocritical,” the inaugural director of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania told FocusM.
“This has nothing to do with government protocol but the doing of ketuanan people (supremacists) who are trying to create societal norms vis-à-vis Islamic rules and regulations that non-Muslim Malaysians must adhere to.”
“So if they claim to be sensitive to everyone, then it’s only appropriate that beef shouldn’t be served at government events given a substantial number of up to 7% Malaysians profess the Hindu faith.”
Added Chin who is also a senior associate at the Tun Tan Cheng Lock Centre for Social and Policy Studies (TCLC) of Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR):
“There are sure to be Hindus attending government functions whether as civil servants or guests … If there’s a total ban on alcohol at government events, it’s then only appropriate to totally ban the serving of beef from government functions.
“All this one-way street ruling boils down to the wielding of political power which they expect others to follow yet at the same time, they claim the imposition of Islamic rules and regulation will not affect the non-Muslims.”
Taking the matter a step further, Chin opined that PMX has made a big mistake by reprimanding Tiong given “it would be better for him to keep quiet lest he has fallen into a trap set by PN (Perikatan Nasional).
“After all, non-Muslims in Malaysia have been conditioned and know how to behave accordingly, thus there is no need to oppress them further) by reinforcing Islamic norms on them),” he asserted.
“This is the sort of hypocrisy that makes people hate the Madani government because they often say one thing but do another … My position is simply that PMX should abstain from playing this game (of pandering to the right).”
The Sarawak-hail academician also hit out at the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services Malaysia (CUEPACS) for stating that civil servants are not allowed to be involved in any activities or events that involved the serving of alcoholic beverage.
“What has alcohol got to do with CUEPACS’ affairs which is to look after the interest and welfare of civil servants? This is more of subtly creating a new social norm so that in the future nobody would ever question the banning of alcohol at government events,” said Chin.
“This itself smacks hypocrisy as you must as well shut down Wisma Putra since all staff are required to attend embassy functions which as far as I know, all embassy events of non-Muslim countries serve alcohol to the detriment of Malaysian civil servants.”
In summing up, Chin reiterated the viewpoint of Selangor DAP stalwart Datuk Teng Chang Khim who stated that “the Federal Constitution only provides that Islam is the religion of the federation which is accepted by all”.
“However, the Federal Constitution doesn’t provide that Malaysia is an Islamic state whereby Islamic values are the core values of the administration,” asserted the former Selangor state assembly speaker who is also a trained lawyer.
“To implement any rules based solely on the Islamic values is an affront to the principles of the Federal Constitution and Rukun Negara. Any such existing rules should be revoked.” – Oct 8, 2025
