PRESMA Now Says It Has No Issue With Pork Nasi Kandar As Long As It's Not Sold In Mamaks
"Obviously, we have no right to say that a certain dish must be halal or served in a certain way," said PRESMA president Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan.
By Sadho Ram — 01 Nov 2023, 10:57 AM
The Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (PRESMA) has relented after earlier taking offence with a non-Muslim stall owner selling "Malaysia's first pork nasi kandar and nasi lemak babi"
According to PRESMA president Datuk Jawahar Ali Taib Khan, he has "no choice" but to accept the term 'nasi kandar babi' now, since Suresh Gnanasekaran, the owner of the Pumbaa's, clarified that it is only for non-Muslims.
Yesterday, 31 October, Jawahar told New Straits Times that people should understand the origins of nasi kandar before commenting on the issue. He claimed that the dish is a halal food.
"One must understand that nasi kandar was originally introduced by mamaks (Indian Muslims)," he said, adding it is a halal dish consisting of a plate of rice with various mixed curries.
"Customers believe all nasi kandar sold at various outlets is halal Muslim food. 'Nasi kandar babi' creates confusion among customers," he claimed while protesting that nasi kandar is now a "questionable term" due to the stall selling pork nasi kandar.
"[It creates] negative implications as [nasi kandar] has always been perceived to be halal," he said.
The food influencer at the Pumbaa's non-halal nasi kandar stall.
Image via @eat.with.aishwarrya (Instagram)Jawahar stated that he has no issue with pork nasi kandar as long as it's not sold in mamaks or any halal eateries
He blamed netizens, claiming they misunderstood the issue when they thought a mamak trader was selling this non-halal version of nasi kandar when it turned out the stall owner was a non-Muslim.
"I have an issue with netizens thinking the mamak is selling non-halal food like nasi kandar babi," he said while emphasising that mamak eateries are mostly run by Indian Muslims.
"We ensure that all the food prepared at the mamak follows halal certification requirements. The word mamak should not be tainted. The word itself should be observed as a halal eatery," he stated.
The English daily quoted Jawahar as saying that PRESMA ultimately respects the rights of others to enjoy delicacies as they want as Malaysia is a multiracial and multicultural country and he and his association have no right to say that a certain dish must be halal or served in a certain way.
