Folly of can’t touch packed beers but no qualms if money has passed through hands of pork butchers

 

SUCH was the reaction from non-Muslims after one Muslim shopper proposed to Lotus’s Malaysia especially its Taiping outlet to open a special payment counter for non-halal items with specific reference to beers in view of hectic last minute Chinese New Year (CNY) shopping.

His proposal is to have a non-Muslim cashier there to scan and handle payment for beer purchases as he felt sympathetic towards Muslim cashiers who have to handle such transaction.

“I’m fine with non-Muslims buying beers and other non-halal items. Buy them and consume them for it’s your rights to do so,” penned the digital marketing trainer on his Facebook page which at the time of writing has garnered 2.6K likes, 2.9K comments and 171 shares.

“But the vendor needs to understand the culture and religion of the local community. Muslims shouldn’t be involved in non-halal products.”

Unfortunately for the well-intentioned Muslim, non-Muslims despite understanding the sensitivity factor in play, are seemingly aghast with his point of view which has been recycled countless times by those who fall in the pious Muslim category.

“That’s enough, guys. We celebrate CNY only once a year; the cashier only touched the packaging for nobody’s telling her to drink,” rebutted a banker.

“As majority of Malaysians are Malays, of course most of the cashiers are Muslims but at the end of the day, we’ve to respect each other. Period.”

This piece of ‘friendly fire’ somehow triggered heated exchanges after one Muslim lady accused the banker of having breached racial sensitivity with non-Muslims showing up to back the banker.

“You’re exposing your own folly as your income comes from the race which consumes pork,” jibed one Indian commenter.

“If you continue to query on the subject of halal or haram when you go to a shop, where’re you going to put your face if the shop owner asks if you’re aware that the money you touch have been contaminated by a pork butcher?”

Interestingly, one open minded Muslim commenter saw no issue with Muslim staff handling packed, wrapped or canned non-halal items while attributing the ‘fracas’ to his brethren “with extreme thinking”.

“Maybe it’s a coincidence that you’ve a Muslim cashier at the counter … A solution is for the Muslim staff to wear gloves,” suggested the self-proclaimed civil servant to expected incessant shelling by fellow Muslims.

“Of course, unless it’s clearly raw pork whereby the Muslim staff need to handle wrapping/weighing … That’s certainly not allowed.”

While non-Muslim commenters harped on the oft-mentioned subject of why Muslims are seemingly fine to accept bribes, spread slanders or have no qualms to receive blood transfusion from donors who could well be from “pork eaters” – or simply “work in Mydin” – one Muslim commenter ‘lectured’ her brethren about job choices.

“The cashier already knows that her workplace sells non-halal products but still chooses to work there. So she has to carry out his trust,” opined the lady who currently resides in Sydney as per her FB profile.

“If she is forced to handle non-halal products skin-to-skin, for example pork, she can ask her boss to exclude her (from that chore). But it’s better not to work there if she’s not comfortable with non-halal issues.”

“Nobody is forcing the cashier to work there, right? It’s the same for those who work at hotels or those waiters and waitresses in the sky who’ve to serve non-halal food/beverages.

“The choice is in their own hands. It’s inappropriate to question non-Muslims that Muslim cashiers have to scan non-halal alcohol/food or the likes.” – Focus Malaysia