KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has ordered a special report on the meat cartel scandal to be submitted to the government following the recent expose on the matter.
Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) director-general Saiful Yazan Alwi revealed this during the "Ruang Bicara" programme on Bernama TV today.
"Our Prime Minister has asked for a special report, while our Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister (Datuk Ronald Kiandee) is also giving special attention to the matter.
"Everyone was shocked over the large quantity (of smuggled meat) that we seized recently.
"It (the seizure) sounded big, but compared to legitimate imported halal meat, it is quite small," he said today.
Earlier this month, the authorities raided a meat-smuggling cartel in Senai, Johor and seized 1,500 tonnes of frozen meat worth RM30 million.
The raid by the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry and other agencies was carried out following a report by local Malay daily Sinar Harian in November.
Last week, the New Straits Times reported that a meat cartel syndicate had been in operation in the country for the past 40 years.
Syndicate members had reportedly bribed government officials to ensure that imported meat from non-certified halal sources was certified halal after entering the Malaysian market.
According to the report, the cartel used proxy companies to prevent any direct link being made to its leaders.