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Tag: BN

  • Malaysia Minister: No Halal Certification For Products That Use “Haram” Names

    Malaysia Minister: No Halal Certification For Products That Use “Haram” Names

    KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — Authorities will not issue halal certification for non-alcoholic “beer” or any product that uses “haram”-related names like ham or bacon, minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom said today.

    National newswire Bernama quoted the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department as saying at the Dewan Negara that the use of the term “halal beer” went against the Manual Procedure for Malaysia Halal Certification (MPPHM) used by the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and other state Islamic departments for halal certification.

    “In the manual, it’s clearly stated that products which use names or have names synonymous with non-halal products, or confusing terms like ‘ham’, ‘bak kut teh’, ‘bacon’, ‘beer’ and the like, cannot qualify for Malaysian halal certification.

    “Halal food or halal artificial food colouring also cannot use names or names synonymous with confusing terms that refer to non-halal food,” Jamil Khir said in response to Senator Khairiah Mohamed, who asked the government for a list of approved “halal beer” that is in the market, as well as conditions for selling “halal beer”.

    Jamil Khir also reportedly said some of those beverages have received halal certification from foreign private companies or halal certification bodies and that some did not use any halal logo on their products.

    “It must be stressed that Jakim and JAIN (state Islamic departments) are the authorities for Malaysian halal certification. Each application for Malaysian halal certification must follow the MPPHM or fatwa decisions and related rules used in Malaysian halal certification.

    “So, Jakim will ensure that these beverages do not misuse the Malaysian halal logo on their products,” he was quoted saying.

    US paper the Wall Street Journal reported in 2015 that Malaysia’s non-alcoholic beer market in 2013 was three million litres and was expected to grow to 3.6 million litres by 2016, a small figure compared to the 11.5 per cent sales in the Middle East and Africa.

    The report also said that fast food chain A&W switched to calling its root beer “RB” in 2013, in order to get the halal certification for all its outlets.

    The issue of halal certification surfaced last October after an executive with US pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s revealed that their application for halal certification had failed due to, among others, concerns over “pretzel dogs” on the menu.

    Some fast food restaurants in Malaysia use non-pork alternatives for ham and bacon, such as turkey ham and beef bacon. There are also vegetarian versions of “bak kut teh” (pork rib soup).

     

    Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

  • Malaysia Foreign Ministry Notes Apology, Why Zed Zaidi Still Barking?

    Malaysia Foreign Ministry Notes Apology, Why Zed Zaidi Still Barking?

    The common perception is that people from you can trust people from your own race and religion more than you can trust others of different background. Seems like Zed Zaidi is on a one-man mission to dispel this notion. He is really trying his darndest to make life difficult for Singaporean Malay artistes in Malaysia, to limit their working opportunities there. Bangsa, bahasa, budaya, agama dan karya taruk tepi….

    I think what everyone wants to know, Malaysians and Singaporeans alike, is, what’s wrong with him????

    He doesn’t accept the apology. So what? Zed Zaidi thinks he is more powerful and influential than he actually is. Najip Ali and other Singaporean artistes can continue to earn a living because they have the talent and the dedication.

    Even Malaysia Foreign Ministry also noted the apology already and stated its wish that something like that do not re-occur, to preserve the good ties between the two countries?

    Zed Zaidi thinks he is more important that the foreign ministry?

    Empty vessels make the most noise.

     

    Seniman Seniwati

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  • Malaysia Right-Wing Group, Perkasa, Sends Protest Letter To K Shanmugam For Claiming That Singapore Malays Better Off Than Malaysian Malays

    Malaysia Right-Wing Group, Perkasa, Sends Protest Letter To K Shanmugam For Claiming That Singapore Malays Better Off Than Malaysian Malays

    PETALING JAYA: Malay right-wing group Perkasa wants Wisma Putra to send a letter of protest to Singapore for comments attributed to a senior minister comparing Singapore Malays with Malaysian Malays.

    Singapore Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam had been reported as saying that Singapore Malays are better off in terms of education standing, skills and wealth than those of similar ethicnicity in Malaysia or Indonesia.

    Perkasa deputy chairman Sirajuddin Salleh said the statement made by Shanmugam was uncalled for.

    “I am concerned about the statement. It is not diplomatic and is an insult to the King and the government of Malaysia,” he told FMT when asked to comment on Shanmugam’s statement.

    Sirajuddin said Malaysia and Singapore were close neighbours and there should be greater diplomacy between both countries.

    “I hope Wisma Putra will issue a strong protest letter. To me, the remark is not good. I will not touch on the content because it is very subjective.

    “It is just like if he comes to my house and says something that is not nice. Whether he is right or not, that is subjective, but in this case, it is not very nice,” Sirajuddin said.

    Earlier Channel News Asia quoted Shanmugam as saying that “with a stable, strong political system, with a strong government, with a guarantee for the minorities … with this framework, we can become the community that Muslim societies in other countries look towards and say, this is the example.”

    Shanmugam had also suggested that Malay, Indian and Chinese PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians) from Singapore were better off than those of the same race, respectively, in Malaysia.

    However, the minister had cautioned that while Singapore was doing better compared with many parts of the world, “within Singapore there is still a gap” and they were no longer just competing with Malaysia or Indonesia, but instead competing with the world.

    He said the proportion of Malay Primary 1 students who go on to post-secondary education had doubled from 45% in 1995 to 93% in 2015. Those who eventually receive polytechnic diplomas, professional qualifications or university degrees have “gone up over a five-year period to 21%.”

    Shanmugam added that the proportion of Malays working as PMETs increased to 28% in 2010 and their median real monthly income per capita had doubled since 1990.

    Nearly 90% of Malay households in Singapore own their own homes, according to Shanmugam.

    However, he singled out three challenges facing the Malay-Muslim community in the country – radicalisation, loss of jobs and the over-representation of Malays being caught for crimes and drug abuse.

    Citing a Pew Research Centre study which showed that 10% of Malaysian Malays had a favourable opinion of Islamic State (IS), and that nearly one-quarter were not prepared to come out and say that IS is wrong, Shanmugam said that Singapore Malays must not get to that level.

    “A key part of that depends on you, the leaders of the Malay community, and whether you can make sure that the right religious values are put forth. We have to work hard at this because the influences are on the internet,” Shanmugam reportedly told a seminar organised by the Association of Muslim Professionals in Singapore.

    On drug abuse, Shanmugam had said 53% of those arrested for drug abuse last year were Malays. This is an increase from 10 years ago when the proportion of Malays arrested for the same was 32%.

    Singapore Malays better off, claims minister

     

    Source: www.msn.com

  • How PAS Bit The Bullet Once Again

    How PAS Bit The Bullet Once Again

    The Party Islam Se-Malaysia, or PAS, will never learn the lesson particularly the political ones as history seems to be repeating itself for the Islamists.

    Their leader Hadi Awang thought he had a well laid plan, in which his would be the hero of Islam in Malaysia with a personal bill to amend the criminal laws in Malaysia consistent with  upgrading it to Shariah or Hudud Islamic laws.

    He had this planned for years, while he was the deputy leader of the Islamic party and he also thought he was even more brilliant than the former spiritual leader of the party, Nik Aziz Nik Mat who warned the Islamists not to enter in any political alliances with the United Malays National Organisation or Umno.

    But Hadi did not wait too long after the passing of Nik Aziz in 2015 to show his true colours and to push his luck on the national scene, with the Hudud in one hand and the idea of a pact with the Umno in the other.

    All seemed to be well for Hadi – until the fatal Wednesday this week – when Prime Minister Najib Razak made an incredible (but expected by The Independent) on the bill called the RUU355.

    The PAS had campaigned for the bill with the thought that it will be voted before the next General Elections and that would seal the alliance it was nurturing with the Umno.

    Hadi Awang took full responsibility within the party and among its followers, saying publicly he believed the Umno had veered towards Islam and with this change, the PAS was even more willing to be an ally with the ruling Malay nationalist party.

    His tactic was to get the Hudud read in Parliament this year, and even if did not get to be  voted before the elections, it would certainly be the case after his party would win at least 40 Parliamentary seats and four or five states in Malaysia.

    This after plotting with the Umno to play the ‘third force’ at national level, forgetting that a third force has always failed in realising anything but a trashing of the opposition forces and big win for the Umno-cum-Barisan Nasional (BN) in any elections in this country.

    Now, licking his deep wounds, Hadi must be planning to reverse the situation in his favour amid calls within and outside the PAS for him to quit after failing to get the RUU355 amended.

    But Hadi is adamant. PAS leaders who supports the Spiritual leader of the party are now saying the Islamists have gained from the setback from Najib, instead.

    The Islamists are now saying even if Najib has abandoned the project – in order to salvage a breaking apart BN – Hadi’s motion still stands and if it is put to vote soon the party would have won in its battle for the Hudud.

    Dismissing the political implications of the Najib rejection of the RUU355 is a fine consolation for the Islamists, but it is widely seen as a slap in their faces in the public eye.

    The only real thing that matters now, is how the Islamists will take to the streets and ask people to vote for them individually with the hope that the Umno would not sabotage them in the course of the next General Elections?

    Would they be so proud to say that a defeat in the next elections would have taught the PAS lessons and that they did not lose after all?

     

    Source: www.theindependent.sg

  • Malaysian Celebrity Criticises Racist Stereotyping Question In Moral Examination

    Malaysian Celebrity Criticises Racist Stereotyping Question In Moral Examination

    A primary school was today criticised by a celebrity over its decision to typecast the country’s ethnicities in a moral examination question.

    In a post on the Instagram photo-sharing service, actress Sarah Lian shared a picture of a moral test paper apparently from a national school in Petaling Jaya that asked students to associate names to different houses of worship.

    The names were Devi, Hock Lee, Kamal, and Steve. Students were required to write the appropriate name under pictures of a church, a Hindu temple, a Chinese temple, and a mosque.

    In the photograph, the student — a daughter of Lian’s friend — linked Devi to the church, Steve to the Hindu temple, Kamal to the Chinese temple, and Hock Lee to the mosque.

    The examiner marked all four answers as wrong.

    “My friend’s 7yr old daughter apparently scored badly. And you wonder who makes kids racist and stereotypical???

    “Well, here’s your answer! A horrible approach to stereotyping people into names races and religions. I’m so furious at this form of racism. How archaic and racist! This is so sad! #shame,” Lian wrote on her Instagram post.

    Malaysian naming conventions, particularly the patronymic system used for Malay names, are regularly used to infer a person’s religious identity.

    Such assumptions have led to problems, particularly in East Malaysia, where non-Muslim natives who use “bin” and “binti” are sometimes wrongly documented as Muslims by authorities.

     

    Source: www.themalaymailonline.com