Commenting on PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man’s defence of the manufacturer’s right to use the name “Timah”, Chandra said it was a “sensible, balanced and appropriate” statement.
Speaking to FMT, he criticised those who had “exaggerated” the issue and said the PAS leader had done a good job of telling Muslims to shun alcohol without depriving the right of non-Muslims to drink it.
In the statement he issued on Tuesday, Tuan Ibrahim said “timah” was a metal and not a Muslim name “or even a person’s name”.
Whatever the brand name, he added, alcohol was still forbidden in Islam but the rights of non-Muslims to drink it had to be respected.
The distillers have issued an explanation, saying the name referred to tin and was not a shortened version of the Arabic name Fatimah. Fatimah was also the name of Prophet Muhammad’s daughter.
However, this hasn’t stopped some quarters from taking offence.
Penang mufti Wan Salim Mohd Noor has suggested that the whisky be named “Captain Speedy” instead, in reference to the picture of a man on the label and the slogan “1871 – The Legend of Captain Speedy”.
Religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad has lodged a complaint with both the domestic trade and consumer affairs ministry, and the home ministry.
The Consumers’ Association of Penang had also chimed in, saying the use of the name was offensive to Muslims. It called for a ban on the whisky’s production.
Amanah vice-president Mujahid Yusof Rawa was the latest to jump on the bandwagon, saying the promotion of Timah as a Malaysian product was bad for the image of Malaysia with Islam being the official religion of the country.
He said the sensitivities of Muslims needed to be considered in all alcohol-related activities.
Mujahid, who was religious affairs minister under the former Pakatan Harapan government, added that a “liquor policy” was needed to ensure that issues related to alcohol would not be politicised over and over again.
Chandra said Malaysians should have done proper research before making an issue of the brand name.