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KOTA KINABALU: Consumers should not worry about the state of meat imported to Sabah, says state Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Datuk Seri, Dr. Jeffrey Kitingan (photo).
He said Sabah has been monitoring the problem of cartels allegedly importing fake halal meat into the country.
“I am aware that the people of Sabah are also concerned whether such illegal activity is taking place here, especially since the cartel has reportedly been operating for more than 40 years,” he said.
Jeffrey said the Sabahans, however, need not be concerned that the situation here is a little different, as the state has the authority to regulate the import and export of animals and animal products under the 2015 Animal Act.
“Sabah has also been granted foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) free status since May 2004.
“This status means that Sabah will impose stricter requirements on imports of animals and animal products to maintain FMD free status as recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE),” it said in a statement on Tuesday (29 de December). .
Jeffrey, who is also Sabah’s chief deputy minister, said the state is still dependent on meat imports, as it currently produces only 10% of demand.
He added that Sabah imports meat only from OIE certified FMD free countries or, at a minimum, the animal must have come from countries with OIE certified FMD free zones.
“Currently, we only import meat from Australia and New Zealand and a special facility in Aurangabad, India, that produces frozen buffalo meat (Allana) to meet high quality meat requirements,” he said.
Jeffrey added that Sabah only imports meat from a list of overseas slaughterhouses approved by a central agency that includes Malaysia’s Department of Veterinary Services (DVS), Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) and the Ministry of Health.
This list is publicly available on the DVS Malaysia website.
However, not all licensed establishments can import meat into Sabah, as they must be FMD free.
“With that said, if the public has any information about meat smuggling in Sabah, feel free to inform the Sabah DVS.
“The government will not hesitate to immediately launch an investigation and enforce the law and bring those responsible to justice,” added Jeffrey.
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