Saturday, October 30, 2021

After Timah, govt to bar brand names that offend sensitivities



After Timah, govt to bar brand names that offend sensitivities


The award-winning Timah whisky has run into controversy over its name and the image used.

PETALING JAYA: The Cabinet has agreed to bar the production of goods with brand names that can affect the sensitivities of any race or religion, following the controversy over the name of a whisky brand, a federal minister revealed today.

PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, who is also the environment and water minister, said this had been decided by the Cabinet.

“I have good news to share. We had a meeting with the relevant ministries and the company to voice our objections (to Timah),” he said at the PAS Youth Muktamar in Port Dickson.

“The Cabinet has made a decision that no manufacturer will be allowed to produce anything (brand names) that can cause unrest, especially in the context of race and religion.”


Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

In recent weeks, several parties had voiced their unhappiness over “Timah”, the Malaysian-made whisky, claiming it sounded like a shortened version of the Arabic name Fatimah and that the image of the man on the bottle looked like a person wearing a “kopiah” or a Muslim skullcap.

The word “Timah” refers to the Malay word for tin. Its manufacturer, Winepak, however, has said it plans to change the whisky’s name.

Tuan Ibrahim said there were those who tried to use the Timah issue against PAS but it had backfired on them.

He also revealed the Cabinet had agreed that plastic bottled water will no longer be served at all government meetings.

On politics, Tuan Ibrahim said it was clear that PAS was wanted by all parties, with both Umno and Bersatu wanting to work with the Islamist party.

“So I propose, why not we just use the PAS logo?”

Previously, Umno said it wanted to work with PAS in the upcoming Melaka polls, but said it must use its own logo.

This came after Perikatan Nasional said the coalition’s candidates, including those from Bersatu, PAS and Gerakan, will use its blue-and-white logo.

However, some, including Tuan Ibrahim, had said PAS should use its own logo.


3 comments:

  1. "The Cabinet has agreed to bar the production of goods with brand names that can affect the sensitivities of any race or religion..."

    You mean the race and religion being referred to are actually only Malay and Islam...nobody else be they Chinese or Indians or Christians or Hindus or Buddhists have ever being confused the way malays/muslims were.

    Ultimately, in perhaps in 2 or 3 generations, Malaysia will be 90 to 95% Malays/Muslims because that is the goal. By then, there will be nobody to ride roughshod and used as punching bags.

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  2. QUOTE
    ‘No pork’ restaurants can be penalised for trying to confuse Muslims, says ministry officer
    Saturday, 13 Feb 2016

    KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 ― The Domestic Trade, Consumerism and Co-operatives Ministry can act against restaurants with “no pork” sign, purportedly for attempting to deceive Muslim consumers into dining there, Malay daily Berita Harian (BH) reported today.

    An enforcement director told the newspaper that the sign does not mean a restaurant is classified “halal” or permissible under Islam, and thus action can be taken under Sections 28 and 29 of the Trade Descriptions Act 2011 for attempting to confuse Muslims through Quranic verses and objects.

    “Consumers must remember the ‘pork free’ sign does not mean it is halal. So don't be deceived if there are many Muslims eating in that restaurant.

    “Consumers must be cautious on the definition of halal-certified food,” enforcement director Mohd Roslan Mahayudin said in the report.

    Section 28 in the Act deals with terms and expressions used in relation to goods or services, while Section 29 touches on informative marking and certification orders.

    Under Section 28, a company can be fined not more than RM5 million for first offence, while an offender that is not a corporate body can be fined not more than RM1 million or jailed not more than three years.

    Under Section 29, a company can be fined not more than RM200,000 for first offence, while an offender that is not a corporate body can be fined not more than RM100,000 or jailed not more than three years.

    Mohd Roslan said it is not easy to get a halal certification by the department of Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), pointing that it requires operators to meet several criteria in order to get the approval.

    “The chef must be clean from all dirt. A restaurant is not necessarily halal just because it doesn't serve pork,” he was reported as saying.

    The newspaper also quoted Malaysian Islamic Consumer Association (PPIM) as urging Federation of Malaysian Consumer Association to act on restaurants with “no pork” signs, saying that it raises doubts on whether food and beverages in these premises meet the criteria of Jakim standards.

    “The issue of halal is a much talked about matter...besides the halal certification which has been constantly exploited by certain parties... now we have this ‘no pork’ sign that is raising all sorts of perceptions and different meanings.

    “Maybe they feel the sign of ‘no pork’ and ‘pork-free’ shows a restaurant is halal but this incorrect as the halal certification comes from Jakim only,” PPIM chief Datuk Nadzim Johan said.

    In August 2014, PPIM had urged authorities to compel food outlets to display their halal or non-halal signs more prominently to protect Arab tourists ignorant of Malaysia’s cultural diversity.

    In the same report, BH said its own survey found that only one of the 10 restaurants surveyed at a mall here had Jakim’s halal certification displayed while nine others only had the “no pork” sign.

    BH reported a restaurant operator explaining that the “pork free” sign was just a way of telling its consumers that it does not serve dishes with pork and that it had not applied for halal certification with Jakim.
    UNQUOTE

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  3. Malaysia, the land of dumb and dumber 🤡🤡🤡 (referring to politicians of course).

    ReplyDelete