Qu'ils mangent de la brioche

 Qu'ils mangent de la brioche - Let them eat cake

statement misattributed to Marie-Antoinette (1755-93), the Queen consort of Louis XVI

Malaysiakini on the continuing Kueh-mueh saga (extracts):

McDonald's has apologised for public misunderstanding over its notice that only halal birthday cakes be allowed on its premises.

"As a company that serves all Malaysians, we have never intended to discriminate against anyone," it said in a Facebook posting last night.

The fast food chain added it has always maintained a "no outside food policy", but made exceptions for birthday cakes.

"However, in order to maintain our halal status, we have to ensure that all products consumed in our restaurants are halal certified as required by Jakim (Islamic Development Department)," it said.

an error, Ah Beng
we believe it's 127.32159% halal  

McDonald’s then thanked those who have shared their views on the cake policy, and said it would continue to make further improvements.

The company had caused a stir when a photo of a notice saying only halal birthday cakes are allowed on its premises was spread on social media on Friday. [...]

Some said McDonald's statement did not address various concerns, such as whether homemade cakes were allowed.

Others such as Pamela Tee also commented ...

"(It) means we can't just simply buy a strawberry shortcake from a Muslim-owned bakery which might not have Jakim approval - because those (certifications) need money!

“And many halal places did not apply for license - thinking its non-alcoholic (and therefore not an issue)," Tee said.

Spot on, Pamela Tee!

She has brought out an excellent point, that Muslim bakeries (thus halal in spirit, preparation and production) might not have halal certification by JAKIM because that requires MONEY which they can't afford.

And just because those birthday cakes baked by Muslims and consisting of halal ingredients like eggs (do pigs lay eggs?), milk (anyone has seen pigs being milked?), sugar (halal?), flour (made from pigs?), fruits (piggy buah?), flavouring (eg. cocoa, chocolate, etc, made of porcine stuff?) are not certified by JAKIM, they can't be taken into Macca.

Has JAKIM cornered the market for halal certification?  

In fact, Jamil Khir Baharom, the Minister in the PM's Department in charge of Islamic affairs, had already said a lack of halal certification does not mean a food item or outlet is haram (forbidden in Islam).

don't play golf so much, especially when overseas; keep an eye on JAKIM 

Just on 02 Nov 2016, FMT reported (extracts):

KUALA LUMPUR: Minister in charge of Islamic Affairs Jamil Khir Baharom said today a food outlet without halal certification does not mean the outlet is haram.

He said it was just a perception that when an outlet did not have a halal certification, the food served was haram, he said at the Dewan Rakyat today.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department also clarified that halal certification for food outlets was done voluntarily by owners.

The certification, he said, helped patrons who are not familiar with non-local cuisine to erase any doubts they might have.

“There are some among the rural community, especially the old. When you mention root beer, the kampung people ask, ni bir ke rut ke (is it beer or a root)?”

He added it was not the ministry that declared any outlet non-halal.

“The only thing is if a restaurant has no halal certification, it creates doubts.”

So why is JAKIM pushing the line that birthday cakes not certified by its department canNOT be taken into Macca, as we have been informed by Macca.

Has JAKIM set its own set of rules on halal certification, way beyond what its minister has thought, for McDonald (Macca) as it previously had for Auntie Annie's pretzel dogs, which subsequently brought howls of derision from even Muslim ministers?

The JAKIM policy has violated the publicly declared policy of the very Minister in charge of JAKIM, or perhaps JAKIM answers to no one, not the Minister in charge of its department, and perhaps not even the PM?

Why is there such arrogance, even against ministerial policy, by a department whose budget taxpayers have shelved out to the ridiculous tune of RM1 Billion a year, more so during these painful times?

Let's see - perhaps JAKIM is worried that people who take in birthday cakes (not certified by JAKIM as halal) may start selling pieces or slices of such cakes to the Muslim customers of Macca?

Hmmm, maybe that's it, yes, mothers of children celebrating birthdays appear to always peddle off pieces of their children's non-halal certified birthday cakes, wakakaka.

Or, is it that JAKIM wants, nay, demands that cake shops apply for such halal certification at COST to the financial benefit of JAKIM.

This is an arrogant religious department which HRH Sultan Johor saw fit last year to question its budget of RM1 Billion per annum.

JAKIM had then claimed it needed RM1 Billion to combat 'extremist ideologies', when critics had said that the JAKIM has been the very one promoting hardline Islamism through its programmes.

HRH Sultan Johor had been absolutely spot on to demand accounting by JAKIM on the way it intended/intends to spend taxpayers' money, some of which have been extracted from non-halal sources.

So it's OK for JAKIM to use non-halal money but not OK for customers of Macca to take into the burger shops non-halal birthday cakes.

In this regard, JAKIM has been hypocritical, but critics also see it as an aggressive push by JAKIM to have bakeries selling birthday cakes, etc, apply for halal-certification from JAKIM but of course with COST at the expense of bakeries though to the benefit of JAKIM.

MM Online of December 2015 told us:

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 27 — The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) must explain its expenditure and justify its demand for RM1 billion in annual allocations, said Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Sultan Iskandar.

The Johor ruler said he will have JAKIM provide details of its spending when the Conference of Malay Rulers meets next, noting that the federal Islamic agency has an obligation to report to the conference.

“I am curious to know — if it is true — why do they need a RM1 billion budget? Does it include allocations to all the states?

“During the next Conference of Rulers (meeting), I want them to show me their breakdown for expenses. I want to know if they are financing our religious schools here,” he said in an interview with the Sunday Star.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki previously said JAKIM needed more than RM1 billion for 2016 if it is to better combat “extremist” ideologies like the Islamic State (IS), liberalism, pluralism, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community,

The deputy minister in charge of Islamic affairs claimed the RM724.6 million set aside for the JAKIM next year was not sufficient.

The scrutiny over its accounts followed claims by critics that the agency was promoting hardline Islamism through its programmes, which in turn was slowly steering Malaysia towards Islamic conservatism.

Critics have also questioned the constitutionality of JAKIM given that Islamic affairs come under the purview of the individual states and not the federal agency. The department responded by saying it was the only entity able to safeguard Islam’s position as the religion of the federation.

In the interview published today, the Johor ruler reminded JAKIM that the Conference of Malay Rulers was the highest authority on Islamic matters and that the agency’s function was only advisory.

“We are the heads of religion in our own states. JAKIM can give advice or propose guidelines but it is up to us whether we want to accept it or not,” he said.

The Johor Sultan also pointed out in Johor, fatwas or religious edicts issued by the Johor Islamic Council cannot be effective without his approval, and that he had questioned some of the fatwa issued by them before.

“I have appointed a panel in the Johor Islamic Council. They come up with fatwas for me to approve it. The fatwa cannot be effective without my approval. Sometimes I do question a fatwa and I want them to explain it, but JAKIM has no right to interfere in the state,” he said.

I wonder whether the JAKIM ruling on Eingang Verboten of non-halal certified birthday cakes into Macca applies in Johor?