KUALA LUMPUR – The Finance Ministry has no plans to separate tax revenue collections from the sale of alcohol for the use of non-Muslims only.
In the Dewan Rakyat today, Deputy Finance Minister II Yamani Hafez Musa explained that from last year up to September, the government collected RM20.11 billion from alcohol excise duties collections.
This amounts to a monthly average of RM1.68 billion.
This prompted Steven Sim Chee Keong (Bukit Mertajam-PH) to query if Putrajaya aims to separate sin tax to be allocated for non-Muslim use only given that the cabinet, which comprise ministers from PAS who aim to prevent alcohol sales and gambling.
“Right now, similar to other excise duty products such as cars, cigarettes, tobacco products and sugary drinks, the revenue collections for alcohol will be placed into a unified fund for government expenditure,” Yamani said in the Dewan Rakyat during question time.
Adding further, he said the government has no plans to separate the funds for expenditure as queried by the Bukit Mertajam MP.
Meanwhile, Datuk Che Abdullah Mat Nawi (Tumpat-PAS) queried if the Finance Ministry has data on the amount spent by the government to address problems caused by alcohol consumption such as driving under the influence leading to accidents, which may involve Muslim victims.
However, Yamani explained that he does not have the data on the matter and urged the Tumpat lawmaker to refer to the Transport Ministry for further details. – The Vibes, November 18, 2021
