KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri will be receiving a report from the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) on the alleged smuggling of non-certified meat by a cartel into the country.
The Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) said the report is expected to be ready in the evening.
"Insya-Allah (God willing) I have already taken a look at the report and statement that has been prepared by Jakim, and hopefully the written statement on this matter will be released sometime later today once we have looked into it very carefully, as it was prepared and handed in earlier.
"We are currently gathering the relevant information and as mentioned earlier we need accurate information on this issue. We need to address the issue with facts," he said.
Zulkifli was speaking at the handover ceremony of contributions from the Jawi (the Federal Territories Religious Department) Food Bank in conjunction with the Covid-19 WP 2.0 Musaadah Mission at the Federal Territory Mosque.
According to sources, the cartel, which bribes officers within government agencies to ensure their operations run smoothly, import not just non-halal-certified beef but also horse and kangaroo meat and pass them off as beef products.
These items were reportedly mixed with beef in warehouses nationwide upon arrival in Malaysia, before being sold to suppliers under the guise of being legitimate halal products.
Zulkifli had previously said the government would take action against the manipulation of the halal certificate by the meat cartel and urged those with information to come forward and assist the authorities in the investigation.