GOING against the economic principle of letting the market forces dictate customer choice, PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuiddin Hassan is of the view that non-Muslim owned pork/alcohol-free eateries should not accept Muslim diners into their premises “nor allowed to give the impression that their food can be enjoyed by Muslims”.
The Kota Bahru MP who was hitting out a DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok for “hastily, disorderly and deliberately giving a wrong impression to Islam” with her objection to the idea mooted by Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Dr Na’im Mokhtar that such measures are necessary in line with the rights of Muslims “to savour food certified as halal”.
“There are many current cases related to this situation which have sparked issues of trustworthiness and suspicion among the people,” claimed Takiyudin who is also the Opposition’s chief whip in a statement posted on his Facebook.
“Although PAS agrees that Muslims should be more careful in their choices, the government also has a role to play in ensuring that the situation is more under control.”
However, Takiyuddin’s stance was shot down by human rights activist and lawyer Siti Kasim who reminded him to steer clear of moral policing.
“You can go and fly kite! Who are you to tell Muslims where to eat and what to eat? Mind your own business, kapish??🤬🤮”
Interestingly, Siti Kasim managed to find some like-minded Malay-Muslim fans who concur with her. “It’s up to the people where they want to eat so long as they don’t commit crime and disturb other people’s peace,” opined one commenter.
“This busybody mentality is growing by the day when that person’s business is with his God and he has the right to choose whether to believe or not tales from the Arabic land.
“Go and get busy with millions of Muslims who harass others or who’re in the midst of committing suicide by smoking illicit cigarettes and vaping. When will JAKIM arrest and fine those Muslim smokers? Is it a big issue to eat Cantonese yee mee noodles in a Muslim-friendly Chinese restaurant when compared with smoking or vaping?”
Another commenter wondered why it is so difficult for JAKIM to educate Muslims on the need to refrain from eating in non-halal eateries.
As pointed out by one commenter – beyond pork and alcohol – proper hygiene is equally important for any F&B (food & beverage) premises to conduct business.
“And clean water is necessary for preparing meals,” the netizen asserted. “Perhaps, JAKIM should inspect the AKSB (Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd) facilities to ascertain on whether it complies with a ‘halal’ standard?”
To sum up, one rather ‘westernised in thought’ commenter aptly put it that he did not scale various heights in his career “to have some inbred yokels tell me what I can or cannot eat”. – Sept 11, 2024
