Police today stressed that their decision to disallow the holding of the Better Beer Festival 2017 was not at all based on perceived threats, but because they had received information on plans to sabotage the event.

Inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the same festival was never prevented from being held in previous years, as there was no information received on such a threat.

“The decision to disallow it this year has nothing to do with religious and racial sensitivities or political pressure.

"The Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) will not bow to pressure from any quarters who want the security information to be disclosed, especially from those who are ignorant of the need to maintain operational secrets,” he said in a statement.

Fuzi said PDRM would also not compromise public safety and property only because of pressure from parties with vested interest.

"That decision is necessary as we should all understand that fighting threats from militants is not easy.

"Even the world’s superpowers with their sophisticated technology have failed to prevent their countries from being targets of militants,” he said.

Fuzi said preventive measures would be more effective than allowing the loss of lives by being lax before taking executive action.

He said PDRM would not budge from its decision made in looking after public safety and interest as there were clear threats and there should be no compromise on this.

The Better Beer Festival 2017, scheduled to be held this Friday and Saturday in Kuala Lumpur, also received no approval from Kuala Lumpur City Hall due to a licensing factor.

- Bernama