KUALA LUMPUR: Having a big beer festival has never been part of Malaysian culture and should not become part of it in any way, says Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz (pic). He said the National Culture Policy drafted in 1971 had outlined, among others, that the national culture must be based on the indigenous culture of this region, with Islam as an important component in its formulation. "It is not our culture – whether we are Malays, Chinese, Indian, Kadazan or Iban – to have a big festival for beer," he said at the Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relation (IDFR) Cultural Diplomacy Lecture Series. However, he explained that banning such a festival did not mean that drinking beer was totally disallowed in the country. "Just like four to five years ago we had this rave party … they took drugs and 11 people died and that's why we stopped this beer festival," he added.

Source: The Star October 12, 2017 11:37 UTC