Vijay47: Asri, you appear to know hardly anything about the guiding light within non-Muslim faiths since you seem very satisfied with the tenets of Islam. Fair enough. In seeking support, you claim alcohol is considered bad by all rational people. I don't think so, and I am as rational as they come. I think. Where did you pick up this pearl of wisdom? Perhaps your standard of “rational” refers to your colleague Zakir Naik.

It is excess, sir, that is bad and this applies to food, speed, materialism, air sirap and alas, it also includes an activity so close to certain hearts and lower locations, sex. It would be useful if you could also explain what prompts supposed teetotallers into bribes, arson, and raping a daughter or two.

Malaccan: Indeed, overindulgence is bad. The religious types are trying to typify the beer festival with the ills of excessive drinking. But the same can be said of other social vices like smoking, speeding, gossiping, etc. The beer festival is for aficionados to experience a beverage that they enjoy and not a festival on debauchery or drunkenness which preoccupy certain mindsets. The religious types in Malaysia are themselves overindulging in make-believe piousness and morality.

In other places, it is called intolerant religious extremism. Even singing becomes an issue if it is not approved by these religious types, hence we had protests against certain performers. Lest more be said, Malaysia is not an Islamic nation. The nation is a construct and cannot profess a belief. It has a secular constitution and Islam is the federal religion for the purposes of ceremonies and customs as clarified by the courts before.

Pokokgetah: Yes, anything carried out to excess is bad. But imbibing alcohol in moderation should not be a problem. The same can be said of eating, which in excess leads to obesity and the many medical problems that accompany it. That does not mean we should ban food festivals “because such a festival would have negative effects”. Moderation is the key here, whether it is eating food or drinking beer. As to whether “alcohol is considered bad by all rational people”, I guess it depends on how one defines “rational”. Should those who disagree be deemed “irrational”?