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Viral Sg Ara chicken rice stall operating without halal cert

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang Islamic Religious Department (JHEAIPP) probe into claims that a Malay-owned chicken rice stall in Sungai Ara had obtained the dish from a non-Muslim restaurant has shown that the shop is operating without a halal certification or Sijil Pengesahan Halal Malaysia (SPHM)

Acting JHEAIPP director Mohd Hanif Omar @ Wahab said checks at another branch at a food court in Persiaran Gurney, owned by the same trader, found it was also operating without halal certification.

"Checks by JHEAIPP found that the chicken rice stall in Sungai Ara, owned by a Malay trader, is not opened for business.

"Further probe also found that the owner also has another stall at a food court in Persiaran Gurney. The stall is jointly owned by him and a non-Malay partner.

"Both are found to be operating without a halal certification," he said.

A video clip that is two minutes and 38 seconds long has gone viral, showing two men outside a non-Muslim restaurant in Paya Terubong where they unloaded food containers from the trunk of a car and brought them inside.

It was alleged that the food obtained from the restaurant was later sold at a Muslim-owned restaurant in Sungai Ara.

The clip had caused uneasiness among Muslims, especially customers who had bought chicken rice at the stall.

It was understood that after the footage had gone viral, the stall owner was forced to temporarily close his business.

Earlier today, Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman said the state government and JHEAIPP had yet to receive an official complaint on claims that the Malay-owned chicken rice stall had obtained the dish from a non-Muslim restaurant.

However, he said he had directed agencies such as JHEAIPP to carry out a probe into the allegation as it involved the sensitivities of the Muslim population

Meanwhile, Hanif also said that the probe by JHEAIPP and the enforcement division of the Penang Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry found that the food prepared at the food court was also taken to the stall in Sungai Ara to be sold.

"We have advised both men to apply for the halal certification from JHEAIPP.

"We also conducted a probe against a chicken rice restaurant in Paya Terubong which went viral. The restaurant served chicken, duck and pork rice.

"We found that the owner of the Sungai Ara stall and the one at the food court had only sent their unsold food to the restaurant in Paya Terubong to be fed to the strays and washed their containers there," he added.

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