DAP's Seputeh MP Teresa Kok today questioned why only "halal turkeys" must be imported to Malaysia during the festive period as there is a shortage of turkeys for Christmas.

In a statement, she criticised Veterinary Services Department director-general Mohamad Azmie Zakaria for saying that he cannot guarantee an adequate supply of turkeys this Christmas.

This is because of the difficulty in importing halal turkeys.

"Firstly, why must turkeys imported be halal when there are limited suppliers of halal turkeys?" Kok asked.

"Secondly, since there are problems of import of halal turkeys , why did the department not at least allow special import of non-halal turnkeys for the Christmas season since Christians will have no issue with consuming non-halal turkeys?" Kok added.

She also asked Mohamad Azmie to be "considerate" in the matter.

She flayed the authorities for taking so long to find a halal turkey supplier though they were aware of their previous halal turkey supplier closing down operations during last year Christmas itself.

"General explanations will not suffice. Mohamad Azmie must explain what are the actual problems faced by the importers and why the department could not help resolve the problems for so long?" Kok asked.

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