Last week I read in disgust on JAIS’ claim that only 3 hotels in Selangor have Halal certification. Halal food in my Muslim country has been a real sore point in my life. Malaysia is an Islamic country. I don’t care if is Islam is just the official religion ( which I have been reminded of many, many times ) but being an official religion has to mean something doesn’t it ? Then why bother putting Islam as the official religion ( whatever that means ) ? The majority here are Muslims. We have mosques and suraus littered everywhere, but when it comes to food the halalness is not a sure thing. As JAIS put it, halal certification is a voluntary thing. Ada ka ?
This means all this while, all the food I have consumed is not guaranteed its halalness ? When I was living in the UK, I had to scan and check every food item I intended to buy to ensure its halalness ( read vegetarian ). I memorise all non-halal ingredients like gelatine, whey, E315 or more obviously animal fat to ensure that the food I eat and feed my family with falls within the requirements of Allah SWT. It was tiring.
In Malaysia, I took for granted that everything is halal. Either the displayed food items in the supermarket, or restaurants ( except those clearly non-halal ones lah ) or hotels, any place that sells food. I thought being in a Muslim country, I am safe. Apparently I am not. I felt cheated somehow.
I was in a mall in KL the other day and was at the food court. I saw a stall that said Nasi Padang manned by 2 female employees clad in tudung. I was in a hurry and although tudung wearing Indonesians are not a sure guarantee that the place is 100% halal, but the name of the stall was Nasi Padang. Surely…. Right ?
Anyway, I went there, asked for nasi tapau and as to my customs chose vegetables only. When I waited for the kitchen help to calculate the price of my food, I took a good look around. Then I noticed quite a few items that were noticeably not Padang people’s food. Fine. Sometimes you know, to attract wider customers, you have to offer food that suits everybody’s palate. Then as 1 policeman asked for nasi bungkus, I blurted out the question that had been plaguing my mind. Is the food is halal ? Yes, was the answer.
Who is the owner ? I asked. One looked nervous and the other one said campur – campur. She then added that the cook is a Javanese. I then asked again who is the owner ? She reluctantly said it is not a Muslim. But then she quickly added that everything is halal. Yeah, I said, who buys the fresh produce ? I looked at the policemen and he appeared nervous too. He smiled at me. I smiled back and left.
Sure the cook is a Muslim but where did the owner buy the meat ? I know for a fact that non-halal chickens are 50 sen cheaper. For unscrupulous people who just don’t care, they want to save that 50 sen, correctly thinking that the unsuspecting public wouldn’t know. I am not saying that every restaurateur in Malaysia is unscrupulous, but not all in the rose bush are flowers. There are thorns. Can I just remind my friends on the sausage debacle last year ( or was it this year ? ). I am not so trusting anymore after that.
I once saw a nasi ayam restaurant receiving its stock of chicken for the day wheeled in by non-Muslims deliverymen. I went red in the face and asked the cashier. She assured me the chicken is halal but when I pointed to the 2 deliverymen, she coloured a bit and she said campur – campur. What do you mean by that ? She explained half of the chicken from a Malay and the other half from a non Muslim, but she said even from the non-Muslim they are halal. Really ?
When I asked for halal certification, they have none. I left. When I called JAIS he advised me that as Muslims I should go to restaurants with halal certificates only. But, I stammered, I am in a Muslim country. How can that be ? What about those Arabs who come here and eat anything they want thinking that all the food in Malaysia is halal ?
From then on, whenever I am unsure if I will be served halal food, I will only take the safest option, go vegetarian. Therefore I eat laksa assam a lot and no more curry laksa. Please do not add more headaches to me by asking about plates and cutleries. As long as it is not pork… he he… boleh ke ? Hmm… one step at a time…
This means all this while, all the food I have consumed is not guaranteed its halalness ? When I was living in the UK, I had to scan and check every food item I intended to buy to ensure its halalness ( read vegetarian ). I memorise all non-halal ingredients like gelatine, whey, E315 or more obviously animal fat to ensure that the food I eat and feed my family with falls within the requirements of Allah SWT. It was tiring.
In Malaysia, I took for granted that everything is halal. Either the displayed food items in the supermarket, or restaurants ( except those clearly non-halal ones lah ) or hotels, any place that sells food. I thought being in a Muslim country, I am safe. Apparently I am not. I felt cheated somehow.
I was in a mall in KL the other day and was at the food court. I saw a stall that said Nasi Padang manned by 2 female employees clad in tudung. I was in a hurry and although tudung wearing Indonesians are not a sure guarantee that the place is 100% halal, but the name of the stall was Nasi Padang. Surely…. Right ?
Anyway, I went there, asked for nasi tapau and as to my customs chose vegetables only. When I waited for the kitchen help to calculate the price of my food, I took a good look around. Then I noticed quite a few items that were noticeably not Padang people’s food. Fine. Sometimes you know, to attract wider customers, you have to offer food that suits everybody’s palate. Then as 1 policeman asked for nasi bungkus, I blurted out the question that had been plaguing my mind. Is the food is halal ? Yes, was the answer.
Who is the owner ? I asked. One looked nervous and the other one said campur – campur. She then added that the cook is a Javanese. I then asked again who is the owner ? She reluctantly said it is not a Muslim. But then she quickly added that everything is halal. Yeah, I said, who buys the fresh produce ? I looked at the policemen and he appeared nervous too. He smiled at me. I smiled back and left.
Sure the cook is a Muslim but where did the owner buy the meat ? I know for a fact that non-halal chickens are 50 sen cheaper. For unscrupulous people who just don’t care, they want to save that 50 sen, correctly thinking that the unsuspecting public wouldn’t know. I am not saying that every restaurateur in Malaysia is unscrupulous, but not all in the rose bush are flowers. There are thorns. Can I just remind my friends on the sausage debacle last year ( or was it this year ? ). I am not so trusting anymore after that.
I once saw a nasi ayam restaurant receiving its stock of chicken for the day wheeled in by non-Muslims deliverymen. I went red in the face and asked the cashier. She assured me the chicken is halal but when I pointed to the 2 deliverymen, she coloured a bit and she said campur – campur. What do you mean by that ? She explained half of the chicken from a Malay and the other half from a non Muslim, but she said even from the non-Muslim they are halal. Really ?
When I asked for halal certification, they have none. I left. When I called JAIS he advised me that as Muslims I should go to restaurants with halal certificates only. But, I stammered, I am in a Muslim country. How can that be ? What about those Arabs who come here and eat anything they want thinking that all the food in Malaysia is halal ?
From then on, whenever I am unsure if I will be served halal food, I will only take the safest option, go vegetarian. Therefore I eat laksa assam a lot and no more curry laksa. Please do not add more headaches to me by asking about plates and cutleries. As long as it is not pork… he he… boleh ke ? Hmm… one step at a time…
Masterfood announced their infamous confection Mars is no longer halal. They will start using rennet, an animal based product. Will Mars bars have a non-halal stamped on it from now on ? Or at least a sticker, to warn us that it is not suci for us anymore ?
Please, make halal certification a must. If not, produce a non-halal one. Employ more people to ensure that fresh produce is bought at halal certified abattoirs and manufacturers. I wouldn’t know the identity of the owners until I take the liberty to ask. Seriously, I don’t want to do that. Apart from that, please create a system that can clearly indicate where these halal certified restaurants get their meat from. Sure it is a lot of work and requires real enforcement work but isn’t Jabatan Agama Islam’s job to ensure ( at some point ) that we live the Muslim way ?
5 comments:
yea, this thing troubles me too. that kopitiam i once put in my blog also have no halal certification altho the staff said the food is halal, so we've stopped going there already. btw, mars dah tarik balik the use of rennet in their product, it was in bbc news a week after the original news was published. why? bcos, the vegetarian society kat sana did a good job in buat bising. but what about muslims here? dok diam2 saja....
OMG! Is this really true? I'm seriously afraid to go to Malaysia already! I thought all the foods there are halal. How about the fast foods there? How to check the halalness of the products?
In Brunei our official religion is also Islam and the restaurants which served non-halal foods are clearly labelled in green at the restaurant or the non-halal section of a supermarket 'BUKAN TEMPAT MAKAN MINUM ORANG ISLAM' so we don't bother to go there, eventhough the cook is a Muslim. The thing is in Brunei, I think there are none non-halal penyembelihan here. I hope Malaysia follow this.
Dear Anonymous,
All fast food outlets in Malaysia are halal. However the worry is when you eat at places that is owned by non-muslims but do not sell pork. We are just not sure where they get their meat from, unless it is certified halal ( you can see the certificate being displayed, usually at the cashier ).
The safest is to eat at Muslims' restaurants where you are sure the food is 100% halal. When unsure, go vegetarian, I suppose.
Don't worry. Check Jabatan Agama Islam Wilayah or Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor where I think they have a list of restaurants that has halal certification.
But like I said, it is safest to go to restaurants owned/operated by Muslims or fast food outlets.
Take care.
Thanks for the reply Kak Myra.
nie subject yg memang menyakitkan hati I bila kat Msia. Like you, I felt cheated. We discussed about this thoroughly (Farid & me) sampai berangan nak buat proposal we jadi tukang supply halal meat to our community in Shah Alam.
I am aware CAP is quite strong in this area. visit their website, support them so that we have more say in this area.
btw, this somehow explains the poor quality of anak bangsa Melayu Muslim yang dah tak kenal agama...
It is indeed a serious issue!
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