PBS man slams PAS rep over call to segregate shopping trolleys
Sabah PAS representative Aliakbar Gulasan had urged supermarkets to be sensitive to the needs and sentiments of the various religions in the state. (Rawpixel pic)
KOTA KINABALU: A Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) leader has slammed a state PAS representative over his remarks on segregating shopping trolleys for non-halal products in local stores.
PAS’ nominated assemblyman Aliakbar Gulasan had urged all supermarkets and stores to be sensitive to the needs and sentiments of the various religions in Sabah.
He issued the statement after an incident at a supermarket in the interior Keningau district which, according to Aliakbar, was selling pork without segregating the trolleys used by its customers.
He said this was an insult to the sensitivities of the Muslim community, adding that the supermarket should have understood matters related to religion or checked with the religious authorities first.
PBS vice-president Johnny Mositun criticised the remarks by his Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) ally, saying he was concerned over what he described as “the beginning of signs of extremism creeping into the state”.
In a statement, Mositun, a former state deputy speaker, said that as a Sabahan, he condemned this sort of religious extremism, and nobody should take a holier-than-thou attitude.
He said the 32 ethnic and sub-ethnic groups in Sabah had always been able to live and work together as one family, despite coming from different backgrounds.
“In fact, Sabah is the best example of religious tolerance and unity. In the past, we never heard the word ‘segregation’ as far as supermarket services are concerned in the state.
“We must maintain this at all cost and be cautious of certain groups trying to break this harmonious relationship.
“These people are trying to sow the seeds of hatred and divisions in others, be it on religious, racial or ethnic grounds.”
Aliakbar, in his statement on Monday, thanked netizens for playing a proactive role in speaking up over the incident at the supermarket.
He also congratulated the Sabah Islamic religious affairs department (JHEAINS) and the Keningau district council for resolving the issue.
Aliakbar said his statement had been misinterpreted and that he never called for stores and markets to stop selling non-halal products.
PAS’ nominated assemblyman Aliakbar Gulasan had urged all supermarkets and stores to be sensitive to the needs and sentiments of the various religions in Sabah.
He issued the statement after an incident at a supermarket in the interior Keningau district which, according to Aliakbar, was selling pork without segregating the trolleys used by its customers.
He said this was an insult to the sensitivities of the Muslim community, adding that the supermarket should have understood matters related to religion or checked with the religious authorities first.
PBS vice-president Johnny Mositun criticised the remarks by his Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) ally, saying he was concerned over what he described as “the beginning of signs of extremism creeping into the state”.
In a statement, Mositun, a former state deputy speaker, said that as a Sabahan, he condemned this sort of religious extremism, and nobody should take a holier-than-thou attitude.
He said the 32 ethnic and sub-ethnic groups in Sabah had always been able to live and work together as one family, despite coming from different backgrounds.
“In fact, Sabah is the best example of religious tolerance and unity. In the past, we never heard the word ‘segregation’ as far as supermarket services are concerned in the state.
“We must maintain this at all cost and be cautious of certain groups trying to break this harmonious relationship.
“These people are trying to sow the seeds of hatred and divisions in others, be it on religious, racial or ethnic grounds.”
Aliakbar, in his statement on Monday, thanked netizens for playing a proactive role in speaking up over the incident at the supermarket.
He also congratulated the Sabah Islamic religious affairs department (JHEAINS) and the Keningau district council for resolving the issue.
Aliakbar said his statement had been misinterpreted and that he never called for stores and markets to stop selling non-halal products.
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kt notes:
As we know, Muslims in Pakistani and India are far more devoted, or fanatical if you like, than Malaysian Muslims. Yet one day when I asked a Pakistani Muslim colleague whether there was any circumstance a Muslim could partake of pork or haram food-drinks, he answered in the affirmative. He narrated that it would be the duty of a Muslim to survive and not to perish, say, out of hunger or thirst when there's food even if the food was pork. So my matey answered rather clearly a Muslim could eat pork to survive (though not out of choice or pleasure; likewise with alcohol if the alcohol was medication).
Yet here in Malaysia, we oft hear of threatening porcine DNA in Cadbury chocolates and various trivial issues of non-halal-ness such as an non-JAKIM certified birthday cake being taken into an already JAKIM-approved MacDonald restaurant, and of course the ridiculous kerbau of popular pretzel store franchise Auntie Anne, which was refused halal certification unless it renamed its "Pretzel Dog" to "Pretzel Sausage". Even Covid-19 vaccine has not escaped such porcine allegations.
Once RPK related his experience of a visit to China, its Muslim community and its mosques. During lunches and dinners RPK said many in his party would 'make mucho noise' at the Chinese food for its probable non-halal-ness though I wonder why would their Muslim Chinese hosts allowed that. But RPK laughed at those people looking for women at night, hence my title "Yes to Leng-Nui's meat". Non-halal "meat" in such women were lovely and tasty but not in Chinese food, wakakaka.
And the FMT article above continues the seemingly unending fault-finding for 101% halal-ness in everything.
Then on several occasions I saw with my own two eyes tudung-ed ladies eating in Chinese roast-pork restaurants - of course they did not order nor partake of siew yoke or char siew, but non-porkie stuff (chooks, beef, veg, tofu, fish, etc). But there was none of the Malaysian-style Telly-Tubby distancing from pork.
In my office there are a couple of Muslim sweeties from Lebanon (all tudung-ed up nicely) who would join my office lunch groups in Chinese restaurants. One did thank me for selecting non-pork dishes for our lunches, whispering to me the Aussie mates never did that, not because they were disrespectful but because they didn't even know or weren't aware of the fact that Muslims don't eat pork and didn't bother to ask - when those occasions occurred she just avoided the non-halal dishes but alas, that severely cut down her choices.
In my office there are a couple of Muslim sweeties from Lebanon (all tudung-ed up nicely) who would join my office lunch groups in Chinese restaurants. One did thank me for selecting non-pork dishes for our lunches, whispering to me the Aussie mates never did that, not because they were disrespectful but because they didn't even know or weren't aware of the fact that Muslims don't eat pork and didn't bother to ask - when those occasions occurred she just avoided the non-halal dishes but alas, that severely cut down her choices.
Of course I am not suggesting that Malaysian Muslims do likewise but please don't nitpick and find fault to such an absurd degree like non Jakim-certified cakes not being allowed into MacDonald's or that Auntie Anne mustn't call its sausage rolls hot dogs.
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