KUCHING: Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Deputy Minister Chong Chieng Jen has advised consumers to differentiate between illicit beer and legal beer.
He gave the advice while officiating at a state-level illicit alcohol drinks awareness campaign organised by his ministry and the Confederation of Malaysian Brewers Berhad (CMBB) at Imperial Hotel here.
The campaign was held to promote awareness of the dangers of illicit beer.
There are two types of illicit beer — counterfeit beers known as fake beer and the uncustomed or smuggled beer.
“We are concerned about both types of beer. At the end of last year, there were 49 deaths caused by fake beer,” added Chong in his speech today.
He said since the public generally did not know how to differentiate between counterfeit beer and legal beer, the campaign was also held to discuss the differences and dangers of illicit beer.
“The uncustomed or smuggled beer causes great revenue losses to the government,” he pointed out.
Chong said the ministry intended to encourage more compliance with the law and compliance to the tax tariffs as illicit beer trading could lead to other criminal activities.
He added, “One of the dangers in consuming smuggled beer is that there is no verification of its origins. So we do not know whether it is real or fake.
“Therefore, through the proper channel, then it is rest assured that those that consumers buy are from the original manufacturing breweries.”
In jest, Chong added that consumption of beer was good for the heart.
“While you enjoy your beer, remember for every bottle of beer consumed, 55 per cent of the revenue will be given to the government coffers to develop the country or to assist the people who are in need of help,” he said.
During the launch of campaign by Chong and CMBB representatives, posters were presented to the owners of shops that sell liquor.
Among those present at the ceremony were Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry deputy director Rosli Ahmad, CMBB representatives, Heineken Malaysia Berhad’s head of corporate affairs Shagivarnam G Ratnam and Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Berhad’s senior manager of government affairs Zainudin Awang.
