Youth leaders urge govt to expose halal meat cartel players

 

Umno Youth has urged the government to ensure there will be no attempt at protecting parties involved in the halal meat import cartel, even if they are VVIPs.

Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki reiterated the movement's call for the government to probe and take action against those involved in any form of corruption linked to the scandal.

He said the probing team must comprise various enforcement agencies, including the MACC and police.

"Let there not be any attempt to shield or protect any parties, including if there was found to be any dignitaries or VVIPs involved in this abuse of Muslim's trust," Asyraf said in a statement today.

Amanah Youth chief Shazni Munir Mohd Ithnin, meanwhile, echoed Asyraf's call for the government to reveal the list of companies involved, and issue them with an immediate stop operations notice.

He said Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's administration should not be lackadaisical at a time when Muslims are confused and concerned with how the cartel could operate over the years.

"Unfortunately, until today, the government has failed to reveal the cartel involved and is slow to take action to stop these companies from marketing meat with dubious halal status," he said.

Last month, Sinar Harian exposed a scam that involved the import of frozen meat from countries without Jakim's approval, allegedly done by freight agents entrusted to manage the overall halal meat import process.

It was reported the questionable meat was repackaged as halal meat with the Jakim sticker and logo before distributed to supermarkets nationwide.

The discovery led to a raid at a storage facility in Senai, Johor, earlier this month, headed by a team from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, based on intelligence by the Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department.

Following that, the New Straits Times reported that the cartel had been in operations for 40 years, in collusion with certain government officers, to import the dubious meat as halal meat. The ministry, however, denied the matter.

Among meats allegedly repackaged as halal beef included kangaroo and horse meat.

The officers involved in aiding the syndicate were reportedly offered various rewards, including money and sexual favours.

Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Rosol Wahid last week said the cartel's main suspect will be revealed soon, but only in court when the person is charged.

Former Bersatu Youth leader Abu Hafiz Salleh Hudin, however, said the government should not remain silent over the progress on related investigations.

Similar to the other two Youth leaders, Hafiz, who is now slated to lead the youth wing for Bersatu's yet to be registered splinter party Pejuang, said the government should reveal the company's identities and suspend their meat import licences.

"The presence of this meat cartel syndicate that had fooled Malaysians all these years is evidence of how corruption and abuse of power involving civil servants from within a segment of government is very serious and required aggressive action to address it.

"Investigations should be transparent and information should be shared with all Malaysians as it concerns public unrest and closely connected to our daily lives," he said in a statement. - Mkini