Bangsar bars, restaurants sue KL mayor over ‘piped music’ rights

KUALA LUMPUR – A number of restaurants and bars in Bangsar have named Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Mahadi Che Ngah in a suit seeking to enforce their rights to play music on their premises.

The originating summons was filed last month by seven companies, and attached to it is an affidavit sworn by a Siva Shankar, who claims ownership to three of those companies under Mixology Asia Group.

According to the affidavit, the seven companies were prohibited from playing “piped music” on their premises by police.

Piped music is pre-recorded background music played through loudspeakers in a public area.

The companies further claimed that Mahadi permitted these companies to operate as “non-entertainment restaurants and bars”, and play piped music at a low volume.

“The plaintiffs have also referred to the defendant, and received a verbal approval regarding the permission to play piped music in the commercial premises, where the defendant also confirmed the guidelines released by the National Security Council (NSC) also allows the playing of piped music at non-entertainment premises,” the affidavit read.

The bar and restaurant owners are claiming that the KL mayor had not only allowed piped music to be played but also confirmed that such activities were not contrary to NSC guidelines.

They went on to cite a December 3 Metro article, where a spokesman from “The Restaurant and Bistro Owners Association” said:

“During the meeting, DBKL clarified that background or piped-in music during the operations was permitted as long as the volume was at a reasonable level. No live music and dancing will be allowed.”

The affidavit goes on to further state that the companies had complied with guidelines set by the NSC and Mahadi.

They also claimed that the NSC guidelines were misinterpreted by the police, where piped music was categorised as “entertainment”.

They said that while a commercial entertainment licence falls under the jurisdiction of the Entertainment Act 1992, the rules are different for those holding licences for non-entertainment bars or restaurants.

“Non-entertainment bars or restaurants that only play piped music do so to create a happy atmosphere without any on-stage activities and dancing. The music is also played at low decibel levels,” the affidavit explained.

Meanwhile, Mahadi had replied to the affidavit on February 17, saying he should not have been made a party to the case in the first place.

His affidavit-in-reply is sworn by City Hall deputy director of law enforcement Mohd Arief Kamarudin.

Arief said three plaintiffs – Hops Sdn Bhd, Astrike Sdn Bhd, and Axcend Sdn Bhd – had not made applications for a non-entertainment bar and restaurant licence.

While Siva claimed ownership to the first three companies named as plaintiffs, Arief said that City Hall had no record of him being the director of another plaintiff, Brilliant Shades.

Arief said they only had records showing that Siva was the director for second and third plaintiffs Speakeasy Kitchen & Bar and Mixology Asia.

The deputy director went on to further claim that the companies had no right to sue the KL mayor, but should have named the police or NSC in their suit instead.

“Given that there are no compounds or orders issued by DBKL against the plaintiffs regarding their operations, what is the cause of action against the defendant in this case?

“Based on the plaintiffs, the police were the enforcers who prohibited the premises from playing piped music, not the defendant,” said Arief. – The Vibes, February 23, 2021