Saturday, 16 July 2011 12:46
Kedah to Brief PAS Central Leadership on Ramadan Entertainment Ban

KUALA LUMPUR, 16 JULY, 2011: The PAS-led Kedah government will brief the party’s central committee tomorrow concerning its decision to ban entertainment outlets during the month of Ramadan. PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak, who is also a PAS central committee member, had been asked to give the briefing.   Azizan, however, would not be able to make it due to an earlier commitment and would instead send a representative to explain the issue, Mustafa said.   "It's a regular monthly central committee meeting, but since this issue has attracted so much attention, we decide to asked Kedah to give us a full briefing," he said when contacted.   The state government announced on Wednesday its decision to enforce the Ramadan ban on entertainment outlets, including karaoke centers and discotheques under the state's Entertainment Enactment 1997.   The decision drew much criticism particularly from parties such as MCA and Gerakan.   DAP, a partner in the opposition coalition, also criticized the move and demanded the PAS-led state government to lift the ban on 13 types of entertainment outlets during the fasting month.   Kedah Gerakan Youth, meanwhile, threatened to take legal action against the state government if it failed to rescind the ban within a week.   Mustafa said the party's top leadership would only response to the matter once they had been briefed about it at the meeting at the party's headquarters here.