In a country grappling with entrenched corruption, economic pressures, and governance failures, PAS has once again demonstrated its impeccable sense of priorities. The Pandan Alami branch of PAS recently lodged a formal complaint with Giant supermarket in Pandan Indah, Selangor, demanding clearer and more prominent “non-halal” labels on alcoholic beverages—especially amid Chinese New Year promotions. According to reports, the branch head, Iskandar Abdul Samad, highlighted the “sensitivity” for Muslim customers and pushed for extra warning signs, despite the supermarket already adding labels like “Non-Halal” and “Beer Section.”
Really, PAS? In February 2026, with Malaysia still reeling from scandals involving the MACC, Azam Baki’s conflicts of interest, corporate mafias, and rising living costs, this is what demands your immediate attention? More stickers on beer bottles?
Let’s be clear: No one disputes that alcohol is haram in Islam. PAS leaders, with their decades of mosque attendance, Friday prayers, and over 11 years of formal Islamic education each, surely know this. The government pours billions annually into Islamic affairs, religious institutions, and related programs—yet somehow, the need for supermarket signage feels like a sudden revelation.
Has anyone forced PAS members—or any Muslim—to touch, buy, or drink alcohol? No. Alcoholic beverages are strictly regulated: sold only with proper licenses, age-restricted, and already separated in most stores. For generations, Malaysian society has managed this maturely—Muslims avoid it, non-Muslims purchase it legally. Not every everyday transaction needs to be escalated into a religious flashpoint. This isn’t about protecting faith; it’s performative outrage that distracts from far more pressing matters.
RM2-3 Billion Sin Tax from Alcohol Goes Straight to National Coffers—Halal or Haram Ah?
And the hypocrisy runs deeper when we examine the “sin tax” revenue from alcohol. Under Budget 2026, the government hiked excise duties on alcoholic beverages by 10% (effective November 1, 2025), part of a broader push on “sin” products like tobacco. Estimates suggest alcohol excise contributes around RM2-3 billion annually to national coffers, with total sin taxes (including tobacco and gambling elements) reaching RM10-12 billion in recent years. This money flows into the general budget—funding everything from infrastructure to health programs, including those benefiting Muslim communities and Islamic initiatives.
If alcohol is so impure and haram, why is PAS silent on this revenue stream? Why no demands to separate these “dirty” funds? Be consistent: If PAS is truly principled, push for sin tax revenue to be ring-fenced, labeled as haram-derived, and allocated exclusively to non-Bumiputera development or non-Islamic affairs. Don’t mix it into national coffers used for mosques, madrasahs, or Muslim welfare. The silence here is deafening—billions in “haram” profits are apparently fine when invisible in budgets, but visible labels on supermarket shelves are a crisis.
This selective zeal extends to PAS’s track record in the states they control. In Kelantan and Terengganu—longtime PAS strongholds—residents face persistent real-world problems: chronic flooding (as seen in recent years, including November 2025 deluges affecting thousands), high poverty rates (with many households below urban poverty lines), youth unemployment, brain drain, and weak economic growth.
Critics, including government aides, point to poor governance as a key barrier to attracting investors. These states lag in infrastructure, job creation, and basic services, yet PAS diverts energy to supermarket signage rather than fixing floods, boosting employment, or alleviating poverty.
The timing is equally suspect. The Giant complaint surfaced around Chinese New Year promotions—convenient for stirring sensitivities during a non-Muslim festive period. Is this about genuine religious concern, or rallying the base through division? PAS has governed Kelantan for decades without banning alcohol sales to non-Muslims (as party leaders like Takiyuddin Hassan have publicly affirmed). So why the sudden fixation on visibility in a multi-racial supermarket chain?
This isn’t isolated. It fits a pattern of overreach: First extra non-halal signs, then what? Demands for separate aisles, “Muslim-only” zones, or boycotts? Supermarkets already comply with laws—licensed sales, no open consumption, basic labeling. Pushing further risks alienating urban, multi-ethnic Malaysians who see this as petty virtue-signaling, not principled leadership.
Islam emphasizes justice, anti-corruption, care for the poor, and ethical governance far more than redundant supermarket labels. Corruption scandals drain billions from the nation—money that could fund schools, hospitals, and poverty relief. Yet PAS often defends allies or stays quiet on these fronts while amplifying minor cultural irritants.
Malaysia needs leaders focused on unity, progress, and real issues—not manufacturing controversies over what everyone already knows. Alcohol is haram. We get it. Now, can we talk about the corruption, poverty, and hypocrisy that’s actually harming the nation?
