We don’t serve dog meat, assert mamak restaurants

Indian Muslim restaurant owners in Kulim claim business has been affected by a widely circulated message warning of dog meat being passed off as mutton.

GEORGE TOWN: Provoked by a viral message accusing mamak restaurants of using dog meat instead of mutton in their soup, a group of nasi kandar restaurant owners have lodged a police report to clear the reputation of the famous Penang staple.

Malaysian Muslim Restaurant Operators Association vice-president Kadhar Shah Abdul Razak said the message on social media had caused many patrons to wonder if they were being served dog meat in Indian Muslim restaurants.

“The action of certain quarters spreading such false news is regrettable.

“The actual incident of dog meat being served as mutton in a restaurant happened in Tamil Nadu, India, not Malaysia.

“The story became viral when it was aired by one of the television stations there.

“We strongly deny using dog meat in Indian-Muslim shops as we are 100% halal and Muslim,” he told reporters here today.

Kadhar said it was ridiculous to accuse mamak eateries of using dog meat as 80% of the 320 restaurants hold halal certificates from the Islamic Development Department (Jakim).

He said the association filed a police report at the Bukit Tengah police station today against a Facebook user named “Udin Di Raja” for sharing photos allegedly taken at a mamak shop in Kulim.

Checks showed the said post may have been removed.

Kadhar said the message claimed the mamak shop was in Kulim, Kedah. This had affected businesses there.

“We give him three days to apologise openly to Indian-Muslim eateries or face legal action.

“His allegations are serious and those who spread such images will also be subject to legal action,” said Kadhar, who is managing director of Nasi Kandar Nasmir.

In the WhatsApp message making its rounds on social media, the image of a carcass of a skinned dog is accompanied by a message in Malay that says: “Subhanallah berhati-hati semua sahabat2 yang berugama Islam bila makan sup, kerana sekarang berluasa kat Restoran2 Mamak sekitar kawasan KL dan Kulim, takut nanti terkena sup anjing pulak sepertimana didalam wassap ni. Disebabkan kebanyakan Restoran Mamak ni pekerja berugama Hindu.”

Translated, the caption reads: “Be careful, all Muslims friends when having soup. More and more mamak restaurants in Kuala Lumpur and Kulim are using dog meat. This is because many of the restaurant workers are Hindu.” -FMT