Kuala Lumpur: A day after Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri allowed Halal-certified bakeries to take order of cakes on the occasion of Christmas, Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil has advised the minister to focus on halal meat cartel issue. The lawmaker has urged the minister to take stern action against the selling of non-Halal meat that is still being sold in the country.
Taking to Twitter, PKR leader said, “Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri will be more focused and proactive since it involves bribery, complacency, matters pertinent to government administration, breach of trust, and even treason”.
The Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) earlier had given the green signal a day before the Christmas eve that Halal-certified bakeries are not prohibited from taking the cake orders from its customers.
However, he said that bakeries are not allowed to display cake at their shops with Halal logo.
According to Malaysia Now, one of the customers alleged that he was shocked when he received his Christmas cake as “Happy Holiday” instead of “Merry Christmas”. The report said that the bakery owner claimed that it was done because they had to abide by the rules set by Jakim.
Clarifying the issue, the Minister wrote on Twitter, “In short, if shop B with JAKIM halal certificate makes a cake with a festive greeting on the cake for the purpose of display (display) in the premises, it is not allowed but if Shop B provides cake ordered A and there is a festive greeting on the cake, it is ALLOWED”.