THE Negri Sembilan mufti has urged the authorities to temporarily suspend meat import from an Australian slaughterhouse, which supposedly breached halal slaughtering standard operating procedures (SOP), to allow the authorities to conduct further investigation.

Mohd Yusof Ahmad also advised Muslims to stop buying meat sourced from the slaughterhouse.

“In Islam, a hadith states that when we are in doubt (about the source of the food), we should not eat the food.

“Doubts have been raised and there are witnesses who claim that the procedure was not done correctly, thus the meat import should be suspended.”

He was commenting on a claim made by Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association, Pertubuhan Kemasyarakatan Rakyat and Sahabat 99 concerning a breach of halal slaughtering SOP by a Jakim-certified slaughterhouse in Australia.

The company denied the claim, but Jakim and Australia’s Agriculture, Water and Environment Department have already launched an investigation into the issue.

Yusof said the authorities should also find a way to ensure the meat already on the market is not sold to Muslims.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman agreed with the mufti and urged traders to not sell meat from the slaughterhouse.

Meat import from the company should also be suspended pending the results of the investigation, he added. – Bernama, May 13, 2022.