9 November 2023, Kuala Lumpur – APISWA was pleased to support a training programme on combatting counterfeit alcohol organised by the UK Department for Business and Trade of the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on 9 November. The programme brought together close to 100 enforcement officers and policymakers from the Ministry of Domestic Trade & Cost of Living, Royal Malaysian Customs, the Ministry of Health, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services and the Royal Malaysian Police.
The session saw presentations and discussions on the illicit alcohol trade in Malaysia and the region, hands-on demonstrations on counterfeit products by APISWA member brands, including knowledge-sharing among participants of best practices and recommendations to combat illicit alcohol in the country, and a training session on product identification conducted by the Alliance Against Counterfeit Spirits (AACS).
This workshop will be the first of a series of training programmes on counterfeit alcohol that the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur will be organising in Malaysia. APISWA looks forward to further collaborations to continue this important dialogue with the government to tackle the cross-cutting issue of illicit trade, which continues to rob governments of a tremendous amount of fiscal revenue, and damage consumer health and safety.
All photo credits to the UK DBT Malaysia.