Forget banning beer festivals, focus on drug abuse: Tun M

PETALING JAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pix) today jumped to the defence of beer festivals in the country, saying the focus should instead be on drug use among Muslim youths.
The former premier opined that non-Muslims should be allowed to consume alcohol even "until they pass out", as long as they don't drink and drive or cause a nuisance to the public.
"This is my opinion. If you want to condemn and get mad at me for not breaking beer bottles in front of the (Selangor) Mentri Besar's office, then by all means.
"The Malays always say mind your own business (jaga tepi kain sendiri). First, make sure we don't drink beers and don't take drugs. That is better than breaking beer bottles," he said in a blog post today.
His comments comes just five days after Sungai Besar Umno division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos created a stir outside the Selangor state government office when he smashed crates of beer in protest against beer festivals.
Mahathir said while he had no issues with non-Muslims consuming alcohol, he was saddened by the misuse of drugs among Muslim youths, which even led to the death of 21 students and two teachers of a tahfiz school in Kuala Lumpur in a fire last month.
"It seems as if the Muslims are accepting the murder of these students as something normal. Yes, some may say it was fated. But my question is why are there Malay Muslim children being involved in drugs?
"Why don't you hear the same from Chinese and Indian children? Is this also fate?" he questioned.
The Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairman said the responsibility to inculcate the attitude of saying no to drugs should lie on religious teachers in schools, and that schools should not only focus on teaching to seek rewards (pahala), but also on Islamic moral teachings.