February 07, 2021
Shoppers at a market in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
File photo: Reuters
For Syahiirah Junaidi, a Kuala Lumpur resident, the recent halal meat scandal in Malaysia is beyond her control.
The country was in December rocked by reports that a cartel had for decades been allegedly bribing officials to import and sell Muslims non-certified meat, including horse and kangaroo when the meat was neither ritually slaughtered according to Islamic custom nor derived from approved sources.
While Syahiirah says she cannot do much but continue to take the word of supermarkets that pledge their meat is halal, or permissible, she knows older residents would not be as forgiving.