Recently, a Malaysian eatery has been on the receiving end of ire from authorities for the name of a dish on their non-halal menu.
The food establishment proclaims to sell ‘nasi kandar’ with pork, which a local influencer promoted on their TikTok account.
The Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) then stepped in, labelling the post as “insulting.”
In addition, they stated that the stall could mislead Muslim customers into visiting them due to the name of the delicacy.
Last week, a food influencer took to TikTok to share about Pumbaa’s Nasi Lemak and Nasi Kandar, located in Damansara Jaya, Selangor.
The eatery proclaimed to sell Malaysia’s first Indian-style ‘nasi kandar’ and ‘nasi lemak’ with pork. In the video, the OP savoured the meal and praised it as flavourful.
She made sure to mention that other choices of meat were available too, such as luncheon meat, fried chicken and mutton.
Source: @eat.with.aishwarrya on TikTok
The video soon went viral with many viewers expressing their discontent over the non-halal eatery naming their dishes in such a manner.
Source: TikTok
However, not all netizens shared the same opinion, with some excited to try the delicacy.
Regardless, authorities in Malaysia intervened, describing the post as “insulting.”
Speaking to the New Straits Times, the Presma President Jawahar Ali Taib Khan said that the video could mislead Muslim customers into visiting the eatery, assuming it was halal.
Source: New Straits Times
“It is a known fact that all nasi kandar restaurants are halal compliant and only serve food which are prepared according to the halal process,” he said.
When someone comes up with such a video claiming that the dish served is Nasi Kandar, it can only be seen as insulting, insensitive and misleading.
Mr Jawahar Ali thus called for the immediate removal of the post. If not properly clarified, he said it could cause confusion in Malaysia, which contained a Muslim majority.
“Most nasi kandar outlets are operated by the Mamak Muslims,” he explained.
“It is not because of food taste but also because we make sure that all the food prepared at nasi kandar restaurants follows halal certification requirements.”
He added that they had to deal with the matter properly. Otherwise, dishes such as murtabak and mee goreng mamak could start containing non-halal ingredients.
Mr Jawahar Ali then confirmed the National Unity ministry contacted him regarding a meeting with them and the stall owner.
“We look forward to the meeting, so that we can solve this issue in an amicable manner,” he said.
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Featured image adapted from @pumbaa_s_ on Instagram and Instagram.
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