Wan Fayhsal threatens police report over Teresa's halal cert remarks

Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal told DAP MP Teresa Kok to apologise and retract her statement on the mandatory halal certification proposal made by a minister.

If not, he said the youth wings of Perikatan Nasional nationwide would lodge a police report against her.

“I request Kok to retract (her statements), apologise, and we can close the books (on it).

“But if she doesn’t, we, the PN and Bersatu youth, will lodge police reports across the country,” he said in a video statement on Facebook last night.

Wan Fayhsal (above) said this was because her statement had touched on 3R (race, religion and royalty) issues.

In a separate statement on X, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim criticised Bersatu Youth over the threat, saying that it is no different from Umno in running to the police over every disagreement.

He also asked for clarification regarding the deep understanding Wan Fayhsal claimed Kok lacked in the matter.

“The deep understanding I can think of is that the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) will make a lot of money,” he said.

Yesterday, Kok said the proposal to require restaurants and food companies that do not serve pork and alcohol to obtain halal certification has the potential to increase the burden on businesses, including thousands of Malay restaurant operators.

She said the move is against the spirit of cultural diversity and may make Malaysia an object of ridicule abroad, while consumers have the right to choose whether to visit restaurants that have been certified halal or not.

The day before, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar said Jakim was considering a proposal to make halal certification mandatory for restaurants and food companies that do not serve pork and alcohol.

Govt keeping mum

On that note, Wan Fayhsal accused the government of deliberately being blind to Kok’s comments on the issue.

He added that Muslims are the largest demographic that patronises eateries.

“It is compulsory for us to ensure that each store which we take out our money for… is halal,” he said.

Muslims are also not prevented from frequenting eateries owned by non-Muslims, he added.

“We can patronise Chinese-owned restaurants. No problem, as long as they are halal,” he said.

‘Certification will raise industry standards’

Meanwhile, Amanah secretary-general Muhammad Faiz Fadzil joined the call for Kok to withdraw her statement, saying that sensitive views should not be aired publicly.

The former Permatang Pasir assemblyperson said in a statement that the proposal, if implemented, would raise the standards of the country’s food industry to higher levels, both domestically and internationally.

The government and Jakim could also provide special initiatives for the halal certification to reduce costs for traders, he added.

"The expansion of halal certification in Malaysia will expand commercial opportunities for all players, regardless of race and religion.

"By 2030, the local halal industry is expected to reach a value of US$113.2 billion (RM490.16 billion), compared to only US$68.4 billion (RM296.17 billion) in 2018,” he said.

In July, Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi revealed that more non-bumiputera companies have halal certification compared to bumiputera companies.

He told the Dewan Rakyat that only 3,619 bumiputera companies, or 39.6 percent of the total, are certified as halal while 5,720 non-bumiputera companies have the certification.

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