“Bak kut teh” buka puasa controversy - Muslim NGOs want check against “abuse” of social media

A Facebook photograph of a non-Muslim couple partaking in "bak kut teh", a popular Chinese herbal meat (usually pork) dish, accompanied by a message to all to enjoy the breaking of fast with the dish, has prompted a Muslim non-governmental organisation to urge for a review of the Multimedia Super Corridor Bill of Guarantees to check what it sees as increasingly rampant abuse of social media.

Responding to the provocative action by the couple concerned, Tan Jye Yee (Alvin), 25, and Vivian Lee, 24, Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) representative Datuk Nadzim Johan said the freedom of expression enjoyed by Malaysians has clearly been abused.

"There is a limit to everything…just like how food, if consumed excessively, can cause illness and become toxic," he said yesterday.

The couple were already infamous from previously courting controversy by uploading their sex video clip in Singapore. Last Friday, they uploaded on their Facebook the controversial picture that also had the "halal" logo on it.

On top of that, another Facebook account yesterday posted a breaking-of-fast advertisement that has a photograph of roast pork, bearing the "halal" logo.

Nadzim said there is a need to have a "checking mechanism" to replace the Bill of Guarantees so that the country will produce Malaysians who are more responsible in using and sharing information.

"It is acknowledged that there is so much information on the Internet, which can be easily spread, compared with information from mainstream media such as newspapers, but the responsible party must have a mechanism to stop whatever information that can offend other races," he said.

In the meantime, PPIM will launch a blog that will function as an avenue to share information on Islam, including addressing questions and misperceptions about the religion.

Two other NGOs, Ikatan Rakyat Insan Muslim Malaysia (IRIMM) and the Malaysian Consumers Development Board (LPPM) have lodged police reports against the couple at the Dang Wangi District Police Headquarters.

IRIMM president Amir Amsaa Alla Pitchay said the couple's act has offended Muslims and was very rude.

"They have offended all Muslims in the country by ridiculing the month of Ramadan…as though Jakim (Islamic Development Department) allows the (pork) dish. It can affect national harmony and create religious tension," he said.

Meanwhile, Social Care Foundation chairperson Tan Sri Robert Phang has described the act as extreme and offending many Muslims who are now fasting in conjunction with Ramadan.

"It is not a healthy thing to do. We should stop such action and not allow it to happen," he said when approached by reporters at a media conference at Jalan Tun Razak Police Station today.