BY YOHAN THEATRE
As one may have heard, the Malaysian government decided to tackle an apparently ramping yet somewhat unexpected local issue: hot-dog stands. Firms selling hot-dogs have been encouraged by the government to rename such products. As a matter of fact, this encouragement seems rather compulsory since the risk incurred by non-compliant entities are “being refused halal certification”, according to the BBC. Losing such certification might not be seen as such a big deal in many locations, but it is in Malaysia. In a country whose population is, for the most part, Muslim, losing halal certification pretty much means filing for bankruptcy.
In a country whose population is, for the most part, Muslim, losing halal certification pretty much means filing for bankruptcy. tweet
One could wonder what concerns might have driven this governmental policy. The Malaysian Islamic Development Department explains having adopted such ruling following “complaints from Muslim tourists”. The director of halal certification at the institution mentioned above Sirajuddin Suhaimee justified that such name might bring “confusion” since “in Islam, dogs are considered unclean, and the name cannot be related to halal certification”. Read more
