Cutlery From Halal & Non-Halal Stalls Gets Mixed Up At Joo Koon Food Court, Diners Urged To Do Better

Muslim Diner Spots Non-Halal Cutlery Deposited At Halal Tray Return Area In Joo Koon Food Court

Singapore is a diverse mix of different religions, and as citizens, we ought to respect every one of them.

Unfortunately, such may not always be the case, as recently exhibited in a food court next to Joo Koon MRT station.

A customer noticed that diners were not differentiating between the halal and non-halal tray return areas at a food court.

As a result, cutlery from non-halal eateries ended up in the halal return area.

Diners fail to keep non-halal cutlery out of halal tray return area

On Friday (19 May), Nasir Uddin posted a picture of a disheartening sight at a food court in a building next to Joo Koon MRT station.

The photo shows both the halal and non-halal tray return racks to be full of various cutlery, including trays, chopsticks, plates and bowls.

However, the halal rack clearly had a few pieces of cutlery, plates and bowls from non-halal stalls.

Mr Nasir told MS News he witnessed the sight on 19 May at around 12.38pm.

He pointed out that diners should respect individual religious matters. While non-Muslims can consume halal food, Muslims cannot do so with non-halal food.

Mr Nasir also expressed concern about how stalls would wash the cutlery in such a situation. Not using two separate dishwashers for the cutlery would also pose a problem.

 

Better education required for diners

The post has since gained a fair bit of attention on Facebook, sparking debate among netizens.

A few users criticised the self-serving attitude of diners, claiming that it contributed to the situation.

Another pointed out that it may be a case of diners from overseas not knowing better.

This is because Singaporeans would know how to return their cutlery, having grown up in our country.

Yet others stated that the return areas should include more languages to benefit those who may not be able to speak or read in English.

Despite the different opinions of users, the consensus among them was clear — such a sight should not have occurred in Singapore.

Hopefully, this incident will remind diners to return their trays to the proper areas, and the relevant operators will put up inclusive signs to ensure the tray return instructions are crystal clear.

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Featured image adapted from Nasir Uddin on Facebook and Google Maps.