The party poopers have won again. The Better Beer Festival 2017 – which was slated to happen on October 6 and 7 – has been cancelled. The folks behind the event, Mybeer (M) Sdn Bhd, announced in a press statement today that the craft beer festival ‘will not be proceeding as scheduled’.
According to the statement, they were instructed by DBKL officials to cancel the event due to licensing issues. However, there could be other reasons why the event was axed. It was also mentioned in the statement that the organisers were ‘further informed that the decision was made due to the political sensitivity surrounding the event’. This might be referring to the statement that PAS Central Committee member Dr Riduan Mohd Nor made regarding the event, especially that it could lead to KL becoming one Asia’s biggest hub of vices.
Despite the organisers’ insistence on the event being for non-Muslims only, PAS didn't retract their condemnation of the festival and went ahead with their complaints. The festival was expected to attract 6,000 attendees and showcase 250 different craft beers with food and music.