|
 It did not say when the change would take place, but said it was
part of a strategy aiming to prevent underage drinking and limit the
accessibility of alcohol to high risk groups.
Malaysia also plans additional labeling requirements for alcohol
products to warn about their effect on health, it said.
The filing to the WTO invites other members of the global trading
body to comment on its plans within the next 60 days.
Malaysia is a predominantly Muslim country but also home to
Carlsberg Brewery Malaysia Bhd, which reported an 11 percent
increase in quarterly profits on Monday, and Guiness Anchor Bhd,
Alcohol is widely available and consumed by an estimated 3.5 million
of the nearly 30 million population, according to the Confederation
of Malaysian Brewers Berhad.
The country already has one of Asia’s highest excise taxes on
alcohol, but consumption of alcohol has been relatively steady.
In neighboring Indonesia, which has the world's largest Muslim
population, lawmakers have proposed legislation to ban all
consumption of alcoholic drinks and hand jail terms of up to two
years to offenders.
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It also introduced a steep increase in import tariffs on wine and
spirits.
Last year, Malaysia exported spirits worth $269 million, mainly to
Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand, and beer worth $156 million, mainly
to Singapore and Thailand.
(Reporting by Tom Miles and Praveen Menon, editing by Larry King)
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