Malaysia: Fake Halal Meat Scandal Fuels Mistrust Among Customers

  • Date: 14-Feb-2021
  • Source: AlBawaba
  • Sector:Retail
  • Country:Middle East
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Malaysia: Fake Halal Meat Scandal Fuels Mistrust Among Customers

"Those who have committed crimes must be brought to justice. Halal is the image of Islam as well as Malaysia, and I believe that those involved will give their full cooperation to resolve this issue,“ Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, religious affairs minister, told Arab News.

Al-Bakri is part of the Malaysian Halal Council, temporarily chaired by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, which includes officials from several ministries and halal industry and product specialists.

It was reinvigorated last month to address a fake halal meat scandal that rocked the country in December after reports emerged of a cartel that had allegedly been bribing customs officials for 40 years to import and sell meat that was not slaughtered according to Islamic customs or sourced from approved stakeholders.

The cartel imported frozen meat from China, Ukraine, Brazil and Argentina and then repackaged it in the southern state of Johor.

Some of the imports included kangaroo and horse meat, which was then mixed with and sold as halal beef, triggering outrage among Muslim consumers who said this was sacrilegious to their Islamic faith.

Two people have been arrested and multiple investigations launched into the scandal.

With more than 60 percent of Malaysia's 32 million population Muslim, local abattoirs and cattle farms are