A different take on prohibition of alcohol sales
Recently the prohibition over alcohol sales became an issue in Ipoh, Perak since one Muslim majority area have imposed the prohibition.
While the Malay Muslim crowd pointed out that it is against their faith, the non-Muslims have used the Federal Constitution to argue for the alcohol to be retained.
I have somewhat a different take on this issue.
Why not let market forces determine whether a product deserves to be in the market.
No products can be sold in a market if there are no demand for it.
One good example that I know is moustache wax.
Sometime ago, the outlet where I used to purchase told me that I would need to place an order in Australia to obtain them.
Apparently the demand for beard oil is high in Malaysia. Not so for the moustache wax.
Hence why moustache wax is not available in the Malaysian market.
Going back to the sale of alcohol, one must not forget that it also contributes to sin tax.
Prohibiting sales of alcohol would only raise the demand for it in the black market.
Prohibiting sales of alcohol also does not address another elephant in the room.
There are alcoholics from both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities.
Hence a prohibition does not work.
A prohibition would tempt alcohol consumers to move from one place to another to get what they want.
Illegal liquor also can cause poisoning.
What is the viable option then?
Let the market forces determine whether alcohol can be sold or not.
Those who are against it can run boycott campaigns like the ones done against companies linked to Israel.
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