[ad_1]
PETALING JAYA: Umno Youth has filed a police report on the issue of meat smuggling after reports of a cartel mixing different meats and passing them off as halal meat on the open market.
The leader of the youth wing, Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, said that the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should establish a special team so that the investigation into the matter can be carried out in a swift and integrated manner.
Those involved in smuggling, be they individuals, agencies and companies, must be exposed and prosecuted immediately.
He said that many government agencies and institutions are involved in the regulation, certification, inspection and enforcement of the halal industry in the country.
Asyraf raised questions for which precise and clear information was needed:
Who is the brain responsible for managing the import of frozen meat whose halal status is in doubt; why there is a monopoly on halal meat processing, especially in China, Thailand and India; why the Veterinary Department allows only a few factories in China, India and Thailand to export chicken and meat to Malaysia; if periodic inspections are carried out every year; if a bull’s tail import permit has been issued; and if the cows from the local market were imported from Argentina.
The issue of the mixing of various types of meat and wrongly declared as halal made headlines with reports that a “cartel” had been importing frozen meats from countries such as China, Ukraine, Brazil and Argentina. Authorities have seized 1,500 tonnes of meat worth RM 30 million from a facility in Senai.
