Rilek1Corner

Tag: halal

  • When Must We Be Tolerant And When Are We Asking Too Much?

    When Must We Be Tolerant And When Are We Asking Too Much?

    My friend related a story to me over the weekend…

    His company employed a Muslim worker for the first time since the company started. The staff did well and got along well with the rest of the employees. Not long later, my friend employed another 3 more Muslim workers.

    This is when things gets a bit complicated. The Muslim workers started asking for a prayer room and also longer lunch break on Fridays for them to attend Mosque. Not wanting to appear discriminating against them, my friend agreed and informed the team leader to re-distribute the workload on Friday so that the Muslims could go for prayer. The rest of the team members were then asked to double up. This cause a bit of morale problem within the company as others are unhappy because all are paid the same salary. Over time, the productivity of the team was noted to have gone down due to longer absence from duty.

    The office also has a pantry where workers could use during their lunch break. This time, the Muslim workers asked if they could have their own fridge and microwave oven since the old one had been used for non-Halal food. Again, being religion sensitive, my friend agreed and bought new items for the pantry.

    A year later, my friend noticed that there is clearly a separation in the company. There are different utensils and also washing items for Muslims.

    At one point of time, the Muslims workers even asked if they could have a separate pantry which by now, my friend openly rejected the idea.

    The workers explained that they felt their religion was not respected by others as they were using the common table cloth to clean the table after eating pork and the taps were oily (presumably lard) when they were using it. They asked if the management could stop other workers from bringing in pork/lard into the pantry and they are okay with other non-Halal food.

    Now my friend is in a dilemma. While he respect the Muslim’s religious obligation, he does not want to impose other’s religious restriction and deprived other of their rights. He is wondering where should he stop?

    Gordon Tay

    *Article first appeared on https://www.facebook.com/gordon.tay.75/posts/972387889460449

     

    Editor’s Note: 

    Let’s refrain from making insulting comments on this issue. It is a real issue, which also applies to other religious customs and cultural customs too. Where do we draw the line between tolerance and over-demanding? It is important to be able to have open, logical discussions about such issues.

     

    Source: www.therealsingapore.com

  • Arnold’s Fried Chicken: Cutlery, Plates And Utensils Used By Filipino Was Disposed Of

    Arnold’s Fried Chicken: Cutlery, Plates And Utensils Used By Filipino Was Disposed Of

    It has come to our attention that a post has been circulating on social media which shows a customer having a meal together with something that is not on our menu. With regards to this incident, we would like to officially state that we do not condone such actions and that the manager on duty did actually do what was required to rectify the matter.

    On 25 April 2015, a customer brought in her own food into our premises without our knowledge despite signs stating that no outside food and drinks are allowed within the restaurant premise. The manager on duty who was informed of this then approached the customer in question to inform her that outside food and drinks are strictly not allowed in the restaurant. He then provided her with a paper bag to pack her food and told her that it is to be kept away. After which, the manager then monitored them from the counter.

    After the lady in the photo and her family was done with their meal we cleared the table and disposed of all the utensils, plates and cutlery used at that table as per protocol for such occurrences.

    Rest assured that we maintain a very stringent view towards having no outside food and drinks in our restaurant and our customers are generally very understanding, considerate and well informed on our restaurant etiquette.

    Moving forward, we will practice more vigilance to make sure that such things do not happen again. We offer our sincerest apologies to all our customers for the anxiety caused. We seek your kind understanding and grace towards this issue.

    Thank you.

     

    Source: Arnold’s Fried Chicken (S) Pte Ld

  • Outrage As Filipino Eats Hotdog At Halal Arnold’s

    Outrage As Filipino Eats Hotdog At Halal Arnold’s

    A netizen, DjNiqzam DjNiqzam complained on facebook that he came across a Philipino lady eating her own hotdog at the Halal Arnold’s restaurant in Yishun on Saturday.

    The netizen had taken a photo of the woman eating there and shared it on the Arnold’s at Yishun Facebook page.

    He explained that the manager at the store, who was also a Philipino, did not do anything about the woman eating on the Arnolds plate.

    Understandably, netizens were not impressed. His post received close to 100 shares in half a day and many commented that this was not acceptable:

     DJNiqzam later also explained in further detail what the manager on duty did:

    “What i can say here is that, the philipino manager did not do a proper job in handling this matter cos he himself a Philipino and is Not a Muslim. He cant feel what we Muslims feel and futhermore this thing happen in a Halal restaurant! What he did is that, he took an oil strainer paper and pass it to the lady to place the hotdog on it since it cannot be place on the plate! WHAT??!! When i raised my voice towards them then they packed the hotdog back into their bag! My 2nd comment asking for some to share my post as to create awareness to others to show abit of respect towards Halal restaurant. What should not be done! Some may know and some may not.”

    Netizens commenting on the thread said that it is important to highlight issues such as this so that people know the rules and needs for Halal restaurants. However at least one person also noted that we shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions as it could actually be a halal hotdog:

      

    In response to the doubt about the meat used in the hotdog, DJNizqam said that it was still a concern:

    In fact, it seems he is right as according to the MUIS Halal certification terms and conditions at s2.1, doubtful food items cannot be brought onto a Halal food premise at all:

    2.1 Doubtful and non halal products/raw materials must not be stored, used, sold or brought into the presmises applied for certification.

    What is still worrying is the way that the Arnold’s Manager handled the situation when they are also unlikely to know the meat used in the hotdog. Should managers in Halal certified eateries be better trained to know how to handle such situations?

     

    Source: www.therealsingapore.com

  • Restaurant Secretary Fined $5,000 For Forging New Halal Certificate

    Restaurant Secretary Fined $5,000 For Forging New Halal Certificate

    A restaurant secretary who had failed to renew the company’s halal certificate forged a new one and showed it to potential customers.

    Pung Chee Lai then lied to her boss by telling him the halal application was still being processed and backed this up by showing him a faked email purporting to be from the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis).

    The 57-year-old was fined $5,000 on Tuesday after she admitted using the forged email.

    At the time she had been working for Pioneer Spring Restaurant and Tuas Point Seafood and Catering, which provided halal food for company functions.

    Tuas Point’s halal certificate expired on Nov 20, 2011, but when Rotary Engineering and Singtel made inquiries for halal food in the three months after that, she provided fakes that expired on Nov 30, 2012.

    A police report was lodged in March 2012.

    Deputy Public Prosecutor Ang Siok Chen said that Pung’s boss was alerted to the forged certificate by his staff, and when he confronted Pung about it she told him that the application renewal was still being processed.

    To back up her claims, she showed him an email from Muis – which had also been forged.

    Ms Ang highlighted the public interest in deterring conduct which undermines the Halal certification regime. She said Pung’s actions were dishonest and premeditated.

    Agreeing, District Judge Wong Choon Ning said the whole system would be affected if people could bypass it or create false certification, adding: “In this case, I do not find any basis of a deliberate commission of the act to provoke racial disharmony.”

    Pung’s lawyer Devadas Naidu said his client made the false statement to Mr Lee in order not to be pressed further and cause further stress to her boss.

    Pung, who has two other charges considered, could have been jailed for up to four years and/or fined for using a forged document.

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Anti-Halal Campaigner Sued Over Claims Islamic Halal Certification Supports Terrorism

    Anti-Halal Campaigner Sued Over Claims Islamic Halal Certification Supports Terrorism

    A prominent anti-halal campaigner and the “Islam-critical” Q Society are being sued for defamation over their claims the Islamic certification industry is corrupt and funds “the push for sharia law in Australia”.

    Mohammed El-Mouelhy, the head of one of Australia’s largest certifiers, Halal Certification Authority, began proceedings in the New South Wales supreme court last month against senior members of the Melbourne-based Q Society and Kirralie Smith, who runs the website HalalChoices.

    The statement of claim alleges that two videos featuring Smith, one recorded at a Q Society event, portray El-Mouelhy as “part of a conspiracy to destroy Western civilisation from within” and “reasonably suspected of providing financial support to terrorist organisations”.

    He also claims that Smith alleges in one of the videos that El Mouelhy once accepted the fee to certify a company without carrying out an inspection and that he conducts his business in a “dishonest manner”.

    El Mouelhy is named in both videos and Smith makes specific allegations about his conduct. His company’s logo flashes on screen in the first clip, a slick 32-minute explainer of Smith’s concerns with halal certification that has been viewed more than 60,000 times.

    The landmark case could have implications for the anti-halal movement in Australia, which briefly became prominent last November when a South Australian dairy company came under pressure from anti-halal activists and ditched its Islamic certification – at the cost of a $50,000 contract.

    Smith’s website, which outlines her concerns with halal certification and provides lists of certified products, is a lightning rod for the movement, which despite an active online presence has done little to persuade major food manufacturers to forgo halal fees.

    The halal food industry is worth about $2.3tn worldwide and halal exports account for about two-thirds of Australia’s $10bn food export market.

    The Australian Crime Commission, which last year completed an investigation into money laundering in Australia, has said it is “not aware of any direct links” between the industry and violent extremist groups.

    The Q Society organised for Dutch firebrand MP Geert Wilders to tour Australia in 2013 and regularly holds events warning of the “Islamisation” of Australian society. It has links to the Reverend Fred Nile’s Christian Democratic party.

    Q Society board members Debbie Robinson, Peter Callaghan and Ralf Schumann are also named in the suit, as is YouTube, which hosts the two videos.

    El Mouelhy, who has run his Halal Certification Authority for more than two decades, said he brought the action because his integrity had been attacked.

    “I don’t like anybody to malign me, I’m an honest person and I don’t see why anybody should say these things,” he said.

    Robinson declined to comment, citing legal advice. Smith also did not comment on the case, but told Guardian Australia her website “is about providing information to consumers so they can make a choice”.

    A directions hearing in the defamation case is scheduled for 20 February.

    Late on Tuesday the independent senator Jacqui Lambie threatened to introduce a private senator’s bill to stop what she believes is “halal money” funding Islamic State.

    Addressing the upper house Lambie questioned whether halal certification funded militants in Syria and Iraq. She said she was prompted to look into the issue after receiving hundreds of emails from concerned residents.

    A study the Tasmanian senator commissioned from the parliamentary library exposed some “surprising facts” that alarmed her.

    Certifiers were not legally required to disclose their fees, nor was there a formal reporting or auditing system to ascertain whether funds were being misused, she said.

    “Given that our enemies in Islamic State are receiving a steady cashflow to control their caliphate in Syria and Iraq, why isn’t there a legal requirement in Australia for halal certification fees to be disclosed?” Lambie said.

    Lambie said if the government failed to answer her questions, she would introduce legislation to close such “legal loopholes”.

     

    Source: www.theguardian.com