SHAH ALAM, 8 Jan: The central government should Islamicise Hard Rock Cafes (HRC) everywhere, not just in Putrajaya as proposed by the Minister of Federal Territories, Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.
The Central PAS Information Chief, Datuk Mahfuz Omar, said that the proposal shows that Barisan Nasional (BN) practices double standards because they want to show Islamic features in some areas only.
He said that the establishment of the HRC branch is not a necessity, and in fact, the proposal should not be carried out.
“Why is the proposal not carried out in all areas? It should not just involve Putrajaya, but all places.
“Moreover, there is no need to establish this HRC, why should it be opened because it is not like people in Putrajaya do not drink at stalls,” he said when contacted by Selangor Kini today.
Mahfuz said that the central government should provide opportunities to other entrepreneurs if they want to open a cafeteria based on Islam because HRC is synonymous to music and alcohol.
“We do not need to use the HRC branding even though the requirements are based on Islam. Why not use other brands and give new entrepreneurs an opportunity,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Federal Territory PAS Commissioner, Mohd Noor Mohamad, said that the BN government will strive to meet the needs of investors, including opening HRC in Putrajaya, even though the people object to it.
“The conditions issued to HRC are to soothe the anger of the people. This means that the government does intend to open a branch of the cafe in Putrajaya,” he said.
He said the opening of clubs and exclusive cafes such as HRC should not be opened in Putrajaya or any other place because it may invite social problems affecting the young people.
He believes that the conditions which were issued is so that there is no resistance by the people, but in the end, there is the intention to open a branch at the government administration centre.
He urged for the people to continue to protest the establishment of the HRC branch which will tarnish the image of the government administrative centre.
Previously, Tengku Adnan commented on the possibility that HRC will open a branch following the shareholding with the President of Perbadanan Putrajaya (PPj), Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat, during his meeting with HRC investor in the country, Tan Sri Syed Yusof Syed Nasir, on his Facebook pagee.
Aseh however explained that no formal application has been made in respect of the matter, and in fact, Hard Rock International denies wanting to open a branch in Putrajaya.
