Timah whiskey allowed to keep its name, says Nanta

PETALING JAYA: The Cabinet has agreed to allow homegrown Timah whiskey to maintain its name, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi reportedly said.

He said the manufacturer will however be required to include an additional label on the whiskey bottle to explain that its name is actually in reference to “bijih timah”, which means tin ore in Bahasa Malaysia.

This was supposedly a proposal from manufacturer Winepak Corporation Sdn Bhd.

“I met with the alcohol manufacturer in question and discussed how to settle this issue.

“I then presented the company’s proposal to the Cabinet, the Cabinet agreed to it,” Nanta was quoted as saying by news portal Malaysiakini quoting Sin Chew Daily.

“I have tried my best to resolve this issue,” he said.

On Oct 28, Nanta said the manufacturer had asked for a week to discuss with its stakeholders and board of directors on changing the name and image on the label of their award-winning product.

He said Winepak Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd agreed to consider the change following a discussion held with the government on Wednesday (Oct 27).

Nanta had said that the meeting was held as the government had taken note of the issue surrounding the whiskey's name, which has been a hot topic on social and electronic media since the beverage was launched in early October.

He also said that the Ministry through MyIPO will improve the procedures, which involves multiple ministries and relevant agencies, so that a similar issue will not recur in the future.

The whiskey Timah has courted the wrath of PAS and other Islamic groups in the nation due to its Bahasa Malaysia name, which critics have said alluded to the name of Prophet Muhammad's daughter, Fatimah.

Critics also argued that the portrait on the label of the Timah whiskey bottle looked like a man wearing a kopiah (a type of Muslim skullcap).

However, the manufacturer explained that the name Timah referred to tin mining in colonial Malaya while the man on its label is Captain Tristram Speedy, an English Officer in Malaya during the British Colonial era.