The issue of controlling drinking (even smoking) is in the enforcement, not accessibility. It’s the lack of enforcement that allows Muslims and minors to get their hands on these items.

Trigem: What about cigarettes? Smoking is a sensitive issue to non-smokers too. Should Hasan Ali ban cigarette sales in majority non-smoker areas as well?

The issue of controlling drinking (even smoking) is in the enforcement, not accessibility. It is the lack of enforcement that allows Muslims and minors to get their hands on these items. Anyone who suggests control on accessibility is insincere in fighting this moral issue. These same people may perhaps have ulterior motive, aimed at ‘punishing’ certain group of people.

Jeg Hui: Only a few months ago, people were saying Ketuanan Rakyat as a new slogan for a new Malaysia. So if the rakyat of Shah Alam, for example, as a Muslim-majority area, agree on the ban of alcohol, so be it. It's not a matter of the big picture or not when dealing with 'babi or beer' (as argued by Shamsul). It's about giving the power back to the people.

And what the heck is this about banning beef in a Hindu-majority area? There is NO Hindu majority area in any constituency in Malaysia to start with (MK). I have been living in London for years now and I don’t feel offended if there is limited halal meat in my area. Heck, my canteen don't serve halal meat at all! Do I feel offended? No, why? Because I know that I am the minority here.

I don't see anything wrong with banning alcohol even in a non-Muslim majority area. Alcohol is bad for the society. And this Dato' commented about incest being worse than alcohol - well, let me tell you that most ‘Haruan Makan Anaks’ are under the influence of alcohol before raping their daughters, Muslims or not.

I can't believe it that these so-called intelligent people are defending the selling of alcohol. Do you actually believe that it's okay for your children to consume alcohol late at night?

P Dev Anand Pillai: There was a reader who mentioned that jobs relating to the serving and production of alcohol are also forbidden to Muslims. One wonders how come there are so many Muslim youths who work as waiters, bartenders and captains in the large hotels around the country and the equally exclusive golf and country clubs whose job includes the serving of alcohol? What happens to these people? Do we retrench them?

We may have certain alcohol-free areas or zones where one can't drink or purchase it but a choice should be given, and education has to start from the young. How come there is no mention about the high number of rapes being committed, incest, child abandoning, infanticide and school children engaging in sexual practices, which is then recorded in mobile phones and passed on?

So now you know why BN always wins? Come on PAS, if you can't rationalise with the voters in the West Coast, then it’s best that you stay put in the East Coast.

Renegade: Much has been said on the above ban proposed by PAS in Muslim-majority areas. Here is my two cents worth. If PAS wants to ban alcohol, then come up with better ways to stop the Muslims from buying or consuming it.

PAS’s suggestion to ban alcohol sales is akin to burning the neighbour’s pastures to stop their cows from grazing there instead of stopping their cows from going over to the neighbour’s pasture. Banning alcohol makes access to alcohol difficult for non-Muslims. Why should PAS’ effort to control alcohol consumption by Muslims affect my rights to drink alcohol?

This same reasoning happens during the fasting month. I have on occasions been subtly reminded not to eat in front of a Muslim during puasa month. I still don’t understand why a Muslim’s, and for that matter any other person’s, religious obligation should be forced on another person’s belief or way of life.

Dr Matthew: I understand why some of our Muslim brethren are concerned about beer sales at convenience stores located in Muslim-majority areas. They feel their Muslim sons and daughters may be tempted to buy the beers.

If that is the case then it looks like the presence of beers can make their children commit sinful acts. If that is really the problem then may I suggest that parents should take full responsibility towards their children’s moral education. It is not just beers available for purchase but even pornography that could be available for easy download right in their own homes.

Are we now going to throw out all their computers from their homes and perhaps start a demonstration in public that Streamyx and all Internet service providers should be shut down and banned in Malaysia.

Human beings should realise that the world has past the era of the 50s and 60s or 70s. We are in a new world order and we have to accept it before we lose out in the tough world of today. That’s the reality.

Alain Augsburger: USA and Europe are multiracial and are constantly building bridges between the various communities. Many countries in Europe have anti-racist laws that also apply to the Internet, but the Internet is in no way censored. We learned over the years that bridges can only be build over dialogue. It is by letting things out and discuss issues openly that racial tensions can reduce, not by restricting the dialogue.

As the country moves up the value chain and becomes more prosperous, it requires Malaysia to get rid of the follower mindset and to develop creativity as well as source and filter information to make sound decisions.

Censoring the Internet not only sends the wrong message to the young generations, it will also jeopardize 15 years of efforts to develop Malaysia has an ICT hub. I experienced first hand, in various countries, how damaging a heavily-filtered Internet can be. It will definitely reduce foreign investments and penalise home-grown companies.