Malaysians blast federal agency, minister over halal meat scandal

A federal Islamic agency is facing a public backlash over a scandal involving tainted meat and cakes sold in halal-certified shops.

Malaysians have criticised the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) for being more preoccupied with policing halal-certified shops than in reassuring the public after news reports emerged that a syndicate had for decades imported non-certified meat, including potentially diseased kangaroo and horse meat, to be sold as halal beef in the local market.

The outcry came after Jakim announced on Dec 25 that halal-certified businesses could not display cakes with "Merry Christmas" greetings on them. Those who did so risked having their halal certificates invalidated.

The announcement followed an incident in which a bakery refused to write "Merry Christmas" on a cake ordered by a customer, replacing the greeting with the words "Happy Holidays" instead. It was apparently abiding by rules under the halal certification process.

Jakim's announcement followed a Dec 24 tweet by Religious Affairs Minister Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri who said businesses are allowed to sell cakes with Christmas wishes on them, as long as they are not displayed in the shop.

The halal issue in multiracial Malaysia is a sensitive matter with the potential to cause racial tensions. Jakim, as the agency responsible for certifying products as halal, or permissible for use by Muslims, has often found itself at the centre of controversies over the certification process.

The day after Datuk Dr Zulkifli's tweet, opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat MP Fahmi Fadzil urged the minister to focus more on the halal meat controversy than on Christmas greetings on a cake.

He said the tainted meat scandal involved not just the halal status of meat sold in Malaysia, but also issues of graft and breach of trust.

"Between the cake issue and the meat cartel, I hope @drzul_albakri will be more focused and proactive on the meat cartel issue since it involves bribery, government administration, breach of trust, and even treason," Mr Fahmi tweeted.

Others also took to social media to voice their dissatisfaction.

Twitter user Effi Saharudin wrote on Dec 25: "The XMas cake issue is distracting us from the BIGGER issue which is 40 year corruption lead to haram meat."

A syndicate which police said appeared to have a wide network of local and foreign branches had allegedly sold fake halal meat for 40 years.

The group brought in meat from non-halal certified sources, including Brazil, Canada, China and Ukraine, local news reports said.

Government officers were allegedly bribed with money and sex to allow the products, including potentially diseased kangaroo and horse meat, to be sold as halal beef.

The scandal has sparked an investigation in neighbouring Singapore, to check if the alleged fake halal meat had been sold in the city state.

Malaysian police said last week they would probe those involved in acquiring, storing, processing and smuggling, as well as anyone who conspired to bring in the frozen meat using approved permits.

The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry had denied in Parliament that the syndicate had been operating for 40 years and said meat seized from raids was tested and confirmed not to contain any kangaroo, horse or pork.

During an emergency debate on the meat scandal in Parliament last week, which was livestreamed on Facebook, netizens questioned Jakim's apparent inertia.

"Jakim is just quiet as well as the religious affairs minister... this is spoiling Jakim's name," said Facebook user Normah Ramli.

The Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association last Tuesday criticised what it saw as a lack of transparency and progress in investigations into the meat scandal.

The association's head activist, Datuk Nadzim Johan, said it had provided information on the syndicate's activities to various agencies before the reports were published.

He said the association had, on Nov 25, met organisations including the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department and police to discuss the issue.

"Like all Muslim consumers, we are concerned that action isn't being taken against those responsible. Taking immediate action will send a strong signal to other syndicates involved in other crimes and protect our consumers," Mr Nadzim was quoted as saying by The New Straits Times daily.

He claimed policymakers were influenced by the syndicate, which told government officials it was cheaper to import the meat products than produce them locally.

Jakim last week responded to the criticism, saying it was not taking part in the probe and that 300 government agencies are involved in the halal-certification process.

Democratic Action Party MP Steven Sim said: "The issue of meat cartels is not just a problem for Muslims. Now, the quality and nutrition of all our food is a question mark. If non-halal meat can enter (Malaysia) due to corruption, is it possible that diseased or contaminated meat can also get through?"