In a statement today, domestic trade and consumer affairs minister Alexander Nanta Linggi said that Winepak asked to be given a one-week period to discuss a “change of name and image” with shareholders and its board of directors.

The whisky’s manufacturer previously said that “Timah” the Malay word for tin, honours the role the metal played in the country’s development when Malaya was the world’s largest tin producer.

However, some people have taken offence at the whisky’s name, claiming it sounded like a shortened version of the Arabic name Fatimah.

Others have said the image featured on the alcoholic beverage looked like a person wearing a “kopiah” or a Muslim skullcap.

Linggi said the virtual meeting with Winepak representatives which he chaired yesterday was also attended by communications and multimedia minister Annuar Musa, religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad and national unity minister Halimah Sadique.

Representatives from the home ministry, energy and natural resources ministry, international trade and industry ministry, and the department of Islamic development Malaysia (Jakim) and Malaysian Intellectual Property Organisation (MyIPO) were also in attendance.

Winepak had previously clarified the drink was named after the Malay word for tin, while the man on the label is Tristam Speedy, an explorer and adventurer who was the first superintendent of police in Penang in 1871 and was said to have introduced the whisky culture to Malaysia.

PAS leaders were among those who have voiced their disapproval of the drink which has won international awards in London and San Francisco, stating last week that the government should not allow any misuse of names that try to “confuse Muslims”.

We are live on Telegram, subscribe here for breaking news and the latest announcements.