KUALA LUMPUR: Pas’ Pasir Mas member of parliament Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz said he has no problems with food operators using the term “hot dog” to describe sausage-based food products.
Nik Abduh said this yesterday following the public outcry over the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia’s (Jakim) directive to pretzel store franchise Auntie Anne’s to change the name of its “Pretzel Dog” to “Pretzel Sausage” in order to receive a halal certification.
“The issue here should not be the name of the food. Any name is okay, as long as its contents are halal but food companies cannot intentionally use names that confuse Muslims either,” he told reporters outside the Parliament lobby here today.
In his opinion, Nik Abduh said the term “dog” in this context should not be a problem as it has been “widely used for a long time” to describe a cooked sausage dish.
“Everybody knows what a hot dog is. But, the company should refer back to Jakim as to why “pretzel dog” is not allowed. I think I will drop by Auntie Anne’s later to grab a bite,” he quipped.