According to reports, the import of non-halal meat camouflaged as halal meat into the country has been going on for decades. Regrettably, the people have been cheated for a long time and many irresponsible players who are involved directly or indirectly in this meat scandal have made their money.
Following this expose, the stigma over the consumption of non-halal or dubious meat will remain in the minds of Malaysians for a long time to come.
The term halal means a lot to all Malaysians. Even non-Muslims in the country look forward to buying halal meat with the belief that the animals slaughtered are not adulterated, diseased, or derived from carcasses.
Halal to a Muslim does not only mean that the animal has been slaughtered after invoking the name of God. The meat must be clean and not contaminated or diseased.
Muslims are required not to eat the meat of animals as specifically proscribed in the Quran. Hindus, for that matter, refrain from eating beef and pork.
Just imagine if the imported meat labelled as mutton is a concoction of mutton, pork and beef. And what more if the meat comes from diseased or dead animals. As for pork consumers, they too would not want the meat to be diseased and impure.
This is not only an issue of halal or non-halal but it also involves public health.
Both Muslims and non-Muslims are consumers of imported meat. So the contention here is more of the unethical practice of these meat cartels to lump all types of meat as halal or consumable when the source of this meat is questionable.
In fact, even the halal label on this meat package does not guarantee that the imported meat is uncontaminated, and not from carcasses or diseased animals. It’s just a label that can easily be copied these days.
It’s doubtful that there is even a QR (Quick Response) code on every label applied to this meat package for the authorities to identify the details of its production.
Random checks on the packages will also not be as effective and comprehensive because there can be elements of corruption through which these meat cartels can get their way around scrutiny.
Monitoring by Jakim in countries that produce and export meat to our country may also not necessarily guarantee that the meat is halal or from halal or clean sources.
The meat cartels can still avoid the legal requisites when the meat enters the country’s shores. As reported, corruption is the main pathway for the non-halal meat to enter as halal meat, as there are government authorities who are not trustworthy and can be easily bribed.
Thus, the cartels involved have various ways to “decriminalise” the processes through unethical practices and corruption. Even if an RCI is established on this issue, it may not necessarily overcome the modus operandi of these cartels.
Perhaps, matters can be controlled at the local level but as long as there is corruption and dishonesty involved at the source of the chain, they cannot be totally resolved.
Are the authorities and consumers aware of the fact that they can be exposed to so many zoonosis diseases that can spread to humans? Of the 1,415 pathogens known to threaten humans, 61% are from animal sources. In other words, they usually come from diseased animals.
Goats and cattle can be infected with various viral and bacterial diseases such as mastitis, foot and mouth disease, caprine arthritis, pseudo rabies, encephalitis, caseous lymphadenitis and pinkeye, among others.
Zoonosis diseases in animals, such as Q-fever, tuberculosis, brucellosis and rabies, are quite contagious.
The Covid-19 pandemic was traced to an animal, likely a bat. Nipah virus was found in pigs. There is evidence that animals play a significant role in spreading SARS-CoV-2 and various types of other viruses.
Incentives to foreign investors
No matter what steps are taken by Jakim or the government to overcome these abuses, it is difficult to curb meat cartels from their manipulative demeanour. This pickle will go on as long as the country is dependent on imported meat.
There are 32 million Malaysians and about 90% of them consume meat. The best way to overcome this imported meat issue is to set up large cattle and goat breeding industries in the country. Meat production can then be supervised by local authorities.
Unfortunately, until today, nothing much has been done to ensure an adequate supply of beef and mutton in the country.
We experienced a big disappointment with the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) meant to cater to the adequate supply of beef in the country. The NFC was given a whopping RM230 million to raise cattle for meat but the project did not materialise.
To ensure that this does not recur, why not allow the livestock industry to be pioneered by foreign investors or the local private sector interested in this sector?
The government should provide incentives to these investors to venture into this field so that livestock, slaughtering and packaging will be easier to monitor if they take place locally.
Moaz Nair is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.