KOTA BARU: The Kelantan Billiard and Snooker Association was enraged when three officers from the Kota Baru Municipal Council (MPKB) stormed into a training session and chased out nine members preparing for a tournament in Kuala Lumpur.
Its secretary Hu Pang Chaw said the training session at a snooker parlour in a shopping complex here was legal as the association had the licence under the Sports Commission Act.
Only the association's 500 members are allowed to patronise the centre, and no liquor is sold there.
Furthermore, the state government had announced its intention to lift the ban on snooker earlier this year.
Yet, the MPKB burst in at 2.30pm yesterday and told them to close, saying they did not have the approval.
They had threatened to remove the tables and equipment by today if the operator of the premises (which was operating under the association) did not close shop.
Hu said the association was registered under the Sports Commission, and as federal law it should supersede the local bylaws adopted by the council.
When PAS came into power in 1990, the local authorities here banned snooker and billiards, classifying them as entertainment rather than sport.
Hu said the association which has the support of the National Sports Council had appealed against the ban in 2001, contending that the two pool games were sport and not entertainment.
State Local Government committee chairman Takiyuddin Hassan said the association should refrain from operating the centre until the proposal to lift the ban was approved during the state executive councillors meeting.
I think the ban would be lifted by December. Until then, the association should be patient, especially since this is the fasting month. They do not have licensing from the MPKB yet.
The associations licence from the Sports Commission was just to register itself and not to operate, Takiyuddin said.
To operate, they must have approval from the local authorities; and until the ban is lifted, the state would remain strict on this matter, he said.//Thestar 14 Oct
Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free.
YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS
- Visit your group "perakan" on the web.
- To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
- Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
