You know I love Alcohol – I also DO NOT love the ‘sin tax’ levied on booze by the government, it makes foreign beers/single malt whisky and other spirits really expensive here.
Alcon is basically a consumer rights group for alcohol consumers in Malaysia to reduce the high tax, the petition is here:
Reduce the HIGH TAX on alcohol in Malaysia
We the undersigned ask that the government reduce the unusually high duties and taxes levied on alcohol in Malaysia, as compared with the rest of the developing and developed world.
We strongly feel that responsible Malaysians have been subjected to EXTREMELY EXCESSIVE duties and taxes for alcohol. Malaysians are still low-income earners, but the prices we pay for alcohol are quite ridiculous.
In terms of income vs price, Malaysians probably pay the highest for alcohol in the WORLD. This is a very distressing and unsustainable situation.
The huge majority of drinkers do so as a form of recreation and a social activity. There are not alcoholics, and are responsible citizens. Many are professionals, businessmen and artists.
However, the cost of moderate drinking can cost up to 25% of a person’s monthly salary. In most countries, for the same volume of drinks, it would only be 5-10% of the monthly salary.
Alcohol consumers already contribute close to 10 billion ringgit (5.6 billion spent on beer alone in 2009), but our views as stakeholders have never been taken into consideration by the government. In addition, the government’s revenue from alcohol taxation are already in the billions each year.
It’s time that the government shows some concern about this situation.
Please do not look to us an easy source of government funds anymore.
Join the Facebook group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/myalcon
Once you’ve joined the group, if you want to attend the launch the event page is here:
This event is only for Alcon members. Please click Attending ONLY IF YOU ARE 100% SURE you are attending, rain or shine, coz we have to cap it at abt 250 attendees max. Otherwise, you might not show up, and you’ll deny other members the chance to attend.
Please register if you are sure you can attend, the head-count is essential and it’s not an open door event.
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In other related news, it’s also KL Cocktail Week! Check out the event here (includes details, itinerary etc):
mmmmm, honestly i agree with the petition but that won’t work here in Malaysia. this may be a democratic country but it really is not. any noise made by its citizen is mostly ignored.
Few reasons as to why duties/tax will never be lowered:-
1. because the Government’s big source of income is on all the duties and tax they have enforced on alcohol/ciggies/imported cars to finance ‘ministers’ expenses.
2. their Malays do not drink alcohol/it is against their religion.
3. they will only protect their Malays.
4. sell alcohol expensive = make money out of the Chinese/Indians/Foreigners/other ethnic groups. Basically, everyone else other than the Malays.
5. they may be against drinking alcohol but they still wanna make money out of it because they know others would still pay for it.
Hi m8,
How bad is it?
Give me an example, how much is a pint, peroni or Jack and Coke?
UK Pint – £2.45 or 11.87 MYR
UK Peroni – £3.30 or 15.99 MYR
UK Jack & Coke – £2.75 or 13.33 MYR
UK 70cl Johnnie Walker Black £20 or 96.98 MYR
Hope your well? JB.
??
yomi: Yah sadly I agree.
J Bailey: Hard to compare really, remember purchasing parity is different and people drink differently here. But as far as I know:
A pint of local brew (Carslberg for example) is about RM18 a JD & Coke should be around the same.
A pint of foreign beer (either 500ml bottle or draft) should be around RM24-30.
A bottle of local beer at the supermarket (640ml large bottle) is around RM13.
A 70cl JW Black Label in a club is about RM300, in a normal shop it’s about RM180 and at duty free around RM100.
I’m good, hope you’re well too 😀
I see the high sin tax as a blessing in disguise for most Malaysians. From my observation, Malaysia probably has a lot less alcohol abuse than some of the Western countries I’ve been to. I suspect it is not only the smaller market that is the contributor but the high price acts as a hindrance. Well at least for me the price was. During my college days, since my dad wouldn’t fund weekly clubbing/Bangsar night outs (too expensive & unproductive according to him – he is a social drinker himself), I signed up for dance lessons instead to pass time. When I look back, am glad I spent my youth (& till today) having fun in sports rather than hanging out drinking, acting jovial & silly.
I hope the professionals, businessmen & artists of Malaysia take this opportunity to put their money to better use, a social & recreational activity that is more rewarding, more beneficial to health & does not risk others lives (should they have too much of a “good thing” on a happy/bad night). There are so many more productive & lower risk (to others lives) social & recreational activities in Malaysia to choose from, so alcohol drinking is one we can do without.
If people say they need alcohol to feel happy or sociable, it is probably better to talk it out with a doctor. As Bertrand Russell said “Drunkenness is temporary suicide; the happiness that it brings is merely negative, a momentary cessation of unhappiness”.