DBKL will suffer ‘massive headache’ with 1am rule, licensed nightclubs warn
Ida Lim
Malay Mail29 December 2018
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Minority Business Chamber Malaysia president Roy Selvaraj speaks to reporters at the press conference to urge the government to reconsider 1am closure in Kuala Lumpur December 29, 2018. — Pictures by Shafwan ZaidonMore
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 29 — With three days to the new year where they may have to close shop early, legal entertainment operators here today pleaded with City Hall (DBKL) to reconsider its proposed 1am “lights out” rule.
Roy Selvaraj, a spokesman for a pro-tem group called the Night Club Entertainment Operators, claimed many clubs would go underground instead of applying for a permit if they had to close shop at 1am.
“The real problem is actually not the licensed outlets. We are regulated, we are easily monitored,” he told a news conference here.
He said if any untoward incidents happened in their premises, the authorities could easily trace it back to them, which kept the licensed operators in line.
“So the Kuala Lumpur City Hall, which is already doing a very good job, will have a massive headache if people were to go out and open up all the business without licence, it will be difficult to monitor them,” he added.
Roy, who is also the president of the Minority Business Chamber Malaysia, said imposing the 1am ruling could lead to not only more house parties, but also a growth of illegal clubs and illegal activities at unregulated venues, such as at rented service apartments.
On November 25, Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Nor Hisham Ahmad Dahlan was reported saying that DBKL would present its proposal to the Federal Territories Ministry for entertainment outlets’ opening hours to be limited to 1am.
On November 29, FT Minister Khalid Samad said DBKL would likely enforce the 1am closing hours from next January and would review special permits that allowed certain entertainment outlets to operate until 3am or 5am.
But on December 17, the mayor said DBKL will not be enforcing the 1am closing hours for entertainment outlets from next January, but will be having further discussions with ministries, MPs and entertainment outlet operators before presenting the matter to Cabinet.
The Night Club Entertainment Operators group said it represents over 100 entertainment outlet operators who were invited by DBKL to provide feedback last Thursday on the proposal to limit their operating hours to 1am.
The group said all operators present in the Thursday meeting voiced their objection to the 1am proposal.
Roy later told Malay Mail that the group will next week submit a memorandum to Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad and the mayor, and seek a dialogue with Khalid on the 1am proposal.
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(From left) Mazlan Othman, Datuk Sivakumaran Nair, Roy Selvaraj, Suzianna Wong, TS Liu, Benny Bedi at the press conference to urge the government to reconsider 1am closure in Kuala Lumpur December 29, 2018.More
Five other club operators in the city were present at the news conference. They were:
Mazlan Othman, TS Liu, Benny Bedi, Datuk Sivakumaran Nair and Suzianna Wong.
Mazlan said the 1am closing time could lead to higher corruption incidents, suggesting that some clubs may attempt to bribe the authorities to be allowed to keep their outlets open longer.
“I am not making accusations, but this can happen and will happen, more cases of bribery will emerge,” he said.
The group asserted that the proposed 1am closing time is impractical as the majority of their patrons come close to midnight.
They also pointed out that the night entertainment industry was a source of many jobs: like disc jockeys, musicians and waiters; and had a knock-on effect on other industries that similarly stayed open until late, including restaurants, convenience stores, and transportation.
Wong said nightclubs were part of the tourism scene and added that outlets in Kuala Lumpur already trail other cities in South-east Asia, citing Bangkok and Singapore as examples.
Roy asked for the status quo to remain for clubs in the city that are currently allowed to operate until 3am or 5am.
He also pointed out that licensed entertainment outlets added to the Treasury and provided space for people to relax that was beneficial to mental health.
“We are contributing in a significant way to mental health for people to release their tension,” Roy said.
He said entertainment has been part of Kuala Lumpur’s “culture” since its mining days.
“We have managed it very well, we have people who live with different cultures, we respect each other.
“There are some people who like to party outside, they have a right to do that after the age of 21, don’t you think so? Why do we want to deny them that right?” he asked
