KUALA LUMPUR: The government must conduct a detailed investigation into the syndicate involved in importing meat and passing it off as halal, especially since it involves government officials.
Lawyer Syahredzan Johan urged the government and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) not to leave any stone unturned in their investigations.
The illegal operations were front-paged in the New Straits Times recently.
"If the reports are true, then it confirms corruption and bribery are indeed cancerous to society. It may not make the nation incur losses financially, but it erodes public confidence in the integrity of halal meat imported into the country.
"This will also raise doubts about food safety in Malaysia," he said in a statement.
Syahredzan said the report had raised concern and worry among Malaysian Muslims as the halal meat status in the country's market is highly trusted by the public.
"Based on the report, the cartel has been aided and abetted by several government agency officers to import the meat with halal status.
"The report also claimed that the officers involved received various gifts, including money and sex, to enable the cartel to operate," he said.
Syahredzan said the syndicate also raises food safety issues in the country involving the general public.
"It was reported that the meat imported was also of animals which had diseases or of low quality. It will certainly affect the public's confidence in the halal status of the meat as well as in terms of food safety on how it was handled and stored," he said.
The New Straits Times highlighted activities of the syndicate which smuggled in non-certified meat which was passed off as halal products, among which were horse and kangaroo meat.
The cartel, which has been allegedly operating for more than 40 years, was also believed to be bribing senior officers from government agencies to ensure their operations went undetected.