Pork-Free Kopitiam Without Halal Cert Inspected by Religious Dept. Because Muslims Dined There

By Ammar Haziq  •  11 Jan 2021 in News

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Last week, a Kopitiam in Kuala Pilah operated by non-Muslims was monitored and inspected by the Negeri Sembilan Religious Affairs Department (JHEAINS).

Despite being pork-free, the inspection came about after some members of the public filed a complaint that Muslim customers were seen entering and eating at the Kopitiam that doesn’t carry a halal certificate.

JHEAINS posted an official statement on Facebook, saying that they’ve inspected the premise after receiving complaints, but can’t really do anything about it.

“The results of the inspection found that the premise involved are owned by non-Muslims and no Muslim cooks or ingredients were used and there is no Halal certificate from the relevant authorities.

“The premise is not a Halal certificate holder, therefore, we do not have the power to take action because it is out of the jurisdiction, and we also can’t prevent Malays/Muslims to dine there,” it said in a statement.

In a report by Harian Metro, JHEAINS also said that there are a couple of non-halal premises that operate in the area with a lot of Malay-Muslim customers.

“We can only give advice, Muslims are urged to avoid visiting non-Muslim food premises that do not have a Halal certificate.

“Muslims should choose a premise with halal certificate recognition issued by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) for dining,” it said.

The comment section of JHEAINS’s Facebook statement sees many Malaysians expressing their disappointment towards the incident, saying that it’s unnecessary and this halal/non-halal issue is dividing us even more.

“This restaurant has been operating for 40 years. People from different races eat there. The Malays there never had any problems eating or drinking there all this while. This must be radical groups from the outside, offended that Malays eat there,” a user commented.

“I wonder during Chinese New Year when we visit Chinese people’s house and eat pork-free dishes cooked by non-Muslims, is it okay? But if a restaurant that isn’t Muslim but uses halal ingredients it becomes haram? So Muslims can only eat food cooked by Muslims?”