Halal fuss over “Indian-owned ayam gepuk joints” despite Malay franchisor claiming otherwise

 

SAMBAL Berapi Ayam Gepuk has come under heavy fire from outraged Muslims despite its brand owner having come forward to clarify that the franchisor is “a Malay but managed with multi-racial partners”.

While admitting that the brand has “a few franchise outlets run by Indian owners”, the unnamed owner claimed that all the branches have abided by the strict halal guidelines.

“As a Malay owner, we fully understood our responsibility to ensure that every aspect of our operation from operation, raw materials, food preparation and staff management adheres to every stated halal condition,” he asserted in a statement.

“It’s unfair to spread rumours and made accusations that our restaurant is not halal simply because out franchise partners are Indians.”

But the Malay owner’s clarification was disputed by Muslim netizens led by halal awareness advocate Halal inquiry Company direktori [sic] who took the pain to research the background of each business owner (read franchisee) via the SSM’s (Companies Commission of Malaysia) business profile search.

Already bad enough that it was confirmed the franchisees are all “Indians”, Halal Inquiry further discovered that each and every of the four existing Sambal Berapi Ayam Gepuk outlets are not holders of JAKIM’s (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) halal certification.

For starters, the entire fuss stemmed from an irate customer who fussed about rusty spoons, “over-recycled cooking oil” and unhygienic operating condition at the Sambal Berapi Ayam Gepuk’s premise Rombayu @ Teluk Panglima Garang outlet (to which the company has acknowledged and issued an apology).

But digging deeper, Halal Inquiry found out that three other Sambal Berapi Ayam Gepuk’s outlets are also run by Indian franchisees and do not bear JAKIM’s halal certification. They are located at Section 17 Shah Alam; USJ 21 Subang Jaya; and Taman Chi Liung @ Klang.

Specifically for the Taman Chi Liung @ Klang outlet, Halal Inquiry stated that it used to have a Muslim partner but “he was only there for a few weeks (left the company on Jan 10, 2025)”.

“Many of the customers are Muslims,” lamented the halal advocate.

For unfamiliar minds, ayam gepuk is a popular Javanese-styled crispy, flavourful fried chicken that is physically pounded or “smashed” (gepuk in Javanese) to tenderise it.

The meal is served with a fiery, garlic-heavy sambal (chili paste) made with peanuts or cashews and is traditionally accompanied by rice, fried tempeh, tofu and fresh cabbage.

With regard to the clarification from the Sambal Berapi Ayam Gepuk’s franchisor, Halal Inquiry defended his motive as “not slandering the owner but just to fulfil his obligation to fellow Muslims”.

“The franchisor’s claim of the business operator’s data being P&C (private & confidential) is unfounded given that SSM data is not P&C (accessible by the public for RM10 per search). Every consumer has the right to know who they’re doing business with,” countered the halal advocate. – May 23, 2026

- focus malaysia