YOURSAY | Leave it to eateries if they want halal cert or not

YOURSAY | 'To coerce them into getting halal cert smacks of administrative high-handedness.'

Halal more than just 'no pork, no alcohol': Anwar

Fair Mind: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, your statement at the launch of the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (Mihas) 2024 sounds as if the various governmental departments and the public are ignorant of the fact that halal is more than pork and alcohol. It is downright insulting.

What have the state local councils, Health Ministry and all in-house factory canteen committees been doing all these years?

Haven’t they been constantly checking for rats, and cockroaches, checking the cleanliness of preparation of food and requiring food preparers to obtain food licences as well as undergo medical inoculations?

Do you think only the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) is qualified to do this job?

Why are you adding more duplication, bureaucracy, extra costs and hurdles by roping in the small mom-and-pop food business and the makciks and pakciks to comply with halal certifications?

What has Jakim been doing when innocent young Muslims have been abused by their carers, the drug menace, the abandonment of babies and the endemic corruption happening within its community?

Grizzled Warrior: Whether an eatery chooses to label itself as "halal" or "no pork or alcohol" should be left to them.

Certainly, if the eatery chooses to describe itself as "halal", then the appropriate certificate from Jakim is needed.

But to coerce eateries that do not serve pork or alcohol into getting Jakim “halal” certification smacks of administrative high-handedness and is reflective of a total lack of any cultural or religious sensitivity in our plural community.

Why should a vegetarian restaurant go for the halal certificate? How must the vegetables be grown, harvested, diced and cooked to be halal?

Such eateries should be free to describe themselves as "no meat/no pork/no alcohol". Leave it to the discerning consumer, Muslim or otherwise, to decide if they should frequent these eateries.

Apanama is Back: Anwar, whatever your reason and justification, the application for certification should always be voluntary.

You cannot use your so-called logic, such as health, to justify a halal certificate.

Are you trying to push this certificate with your statement?

Anwar, let's direct your efforts towards handling the economy, addressing the cost-of-living issues, and other pressing matters.

These are the issues that truly matter, not the status of halal certification.

This certificate should remain status quo.

Dummies Dhimmi: Cleanliness is what counts. We look out for signs for a clean environment and food preparation and then comes service.

What we eat, we can choose. By the way, the level of cleanliness in a lot of Malay outlets, most times, is questionable to appalling with unappetising odours.

Jakim needs to emphasise the concept of cleanliness next to godliness.

Bornean: Anwar, I doubt Jakim is capable of handling the health and hazardous chemicals in foods. There are already agencies that handle this.

Malaysians still have the freedom of choice as to where and what to eat. Don't teach a duck to swim, we are more intelligent than you think.

Delay No More: Who is in charge of food safety and hygiene?

The Food Safety and Quality Division (FSQD) was established by the Health Ministry to ensure that food processing activities comply with hygiene and safety requirements.

The FSQD is also responsible for overseeing food safety through the supply chain.

In Malaysia, Malaysian Standard MS 1480 was published by the Department of Standards to describe the requirements for food safety according to the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system to ensure the safety of food during preparation, processing, manufacturing, packaging, storage, and transportation.

The Health Ministry enforces food safety regulations through the Food Act 1983 and the Food Hygiene Regulations 2009.

These regulations mandate that all food handlers undergo mandatory training in food hygiene practices.

LimePanther5220: Prime minister, you must surely know that there are various gradings of hotels, classified by their stars.

Not every operator can offer five-star or six-star facilities. They may not have the capital to do so, or it may not be their business strategy to target that market segment.

Halal certification is good and nobody is disputing that. But it is going to raise the prices of food.

Not everybody needs their food to be certified halal. They can’t afford it and so a clean set-up would do.

Do you know that many hospitals are in bad shape, with broken down and dirty toilets? But you choose to zero in on the dispensable.

The way you are trying to justify the halal certification makes me think that you could be the brain behind the hare-brained proposal. Just live and let live.

Quigonbond: I understand the larger halal concept. But as it relates to the halal certification, the explanation must come before the proposal or decision.

Just like the government is slow to move on to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd) because people won’t understand it.

It not just understanding something. It's whether subsequent steps make larger common/economic sense, whether it is seen as an overreach by some government department.

Ranjit Singh Malhi: Dear prime minister, do whatever is appropriate for the Malaysian Muslim community.

Just don't intrude into the religious and cultural rights and practices of Malaysian non-Muslims.

Do not try to justify an indirect and unintelligent halal certificate to non-Muslims. Be a prime minister for all Malaysians as you have always preached - it's still not too late.

Your track record to date is really bad. You do not practise what you preach.

Lone_star: Halal health is important, and so are halal thoughts. Should there also be halal standards for everything, including discrimination and corruption?

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