Sarawak against halal-cake policy

KUCHING: The policy by McDonald’s Malay­sia to only allow halal-certified cakes into its premises is not welcomed in Sarawak.

Political secretary to the Chief Minister, Michael Tiang, called on the management of the fast food chain not to extend the policy to Sarawak, saying it was “totally incompatible” with the state’s multi-cultural and multi-religious society.

“One of Sarawak's unique features is that there is always harmony and tolerance among the different ethnic groups. Such solidarity is the pride of Sarawakians.

“We cannot condone any religious or racial extremism which will destroy the solidarity among Sarawakians,” he said in a statement here yesterday.

Tiang said that to preserve the state’s harmony, the Sarawak government had denied entry to extremists, religious bigots and racists.

Last week, McDonald’s confirmed that it had implemented a policy barring customers from bringing cakes without halal certification onto its premises, saying that this was a requirement by the Islamic Development Department (Jakim).

In a related development, Tiang said McDonald’s outlets in Miri took down the notices on the halal-certified cakes after receiving a directive from the head office yesterday.

“As far as I know, Miri’s McDonald’s outlets were the only ones in Sarawak to display the notices at their premises.

“Such prompt action is a wise move and a positive response to the strong objections from Sarawakians towards its policy,” he said.

McDonald’s has three outlets in Miri and 13 in total in Sarawak.