Former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has taken aim at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s recent justification in Parliament for banning alcohol within school compounds, calling it an attempt to mask religious reasoning behind abstract notions of “ethics and morality.”
Zaid argued that the Prime Minister’s lengthy explanation about protecting educational environments from moral corruption was unnecessary if the real motive stemmed from Islamic principles. He suggested that instead of presenting the issue as one of universal moral standards, the government should acknowledge that Malaysia’s Muslim-majority context drives such decisions.
According to Zaid, Anwar’s insistence on moral reasoning only serves to obscure the reality that his administration continues to promote Islamisation policies. He said that it would be more honest for the Prime Minister to openly admit that the restriction reflects Islamic values rather than a general moral stance.
He also criticised what he described as selective respect for non-Muslim rights, pointing out that tolerance cannot exist when one group’s moral code is imposed on another. Zaid warned that banning alcohol in school compounds under the guise of preserving ethics could set a dangerous precedent for broader moral policing across the nation.
He noted that social gatherings like those organised by alumni groups such as St. Michael’s Old Boys, where wine or beer might be served, are not moral transgressions. Instead, he argued, they reflect ordinary cultural expressions that should not be politicised or condemned in a diverse country like Malaysia.
Zaid further stressed that true respect for freedom means allowing others to live according to their own beliefs and customs, not compelling them to conform to one’s personal religious or moral framework. He questioned how moral authority could be claimed by political leaders when the public frequently views their own conduct as ethically questionable.
Drawing a comparison to earlier Malaysian leaders, Zaid remarked that many of the nation’s founding statesmen occasionally consumed alcohol yet demonstrated far greater honesty and integrity than many politicians today. Their character, he said, stood in contrast to the current leadership’s preoccupation with moral symbolism.
Zaid concluded that moral integrity cannot be legislated through religious restrictions or symbolic bans. Instead, he urged Malaysia’s leaders to focus on genuine ethics in governance—transparency, accountability, and honesty—rather than controlling the private choices of citizens.
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