Govt mulls alcohol sale rules for stores with Muslim staff

The government is considering guidelines to exempt Muslim workers at convenience stores from selling alcohol, says religious affairs minister Zulkifli Hasan.

In a written parliamentary reply, he said the Islamic development department (Jakim) was also exploring how local councils could use existing rules and business licence conditions to address the issue.

He said Jakim had held talks with Kuala Lumpur City Hall, the local government department, labour department, Attorney-General’s Chambers and human resources ministry on the proposed guidelines, which would cover Muslim workers in shops that sell both halal and non-halal products.

“Employers should consider assigning Muslim workers other duties or setting up separate payment counters so they do not have to sell alcohol without putting their jobs at risk,” he said.

Zulkifli was responding to Zulkifli Ismail (PN-Jasin), who asked what the government was doing to prevent Muslim workers at convenience stores from handling alcohol sales.

The minister said Jakim would hold further discussions with local councils, state Islamic religious departments and other agencies before deciding on the measures.

He said the federal territories Islamic religious department had also been making regular visits to convenience stores to advise operators on Islamic requirements.

However, he did not say when the guidelines would be ready or whether shops would be required to follow them.

In March 2024, Zulkifli welcomed a proposal for convenience stores to use vending machines to sell alcohol so Muslim workers would not have to handle such sales.