Umno Youth launches "Pastikan Halal Ori Baru Beli" campaign to fight fake halal logos

SHAH ALAM - Umno Youth has launched the campaign "Pastikan Halal Ori Baru Beli" (Ensure It's Truly Halal Before You Buy) to protect consumers from being deceived by fake halal logos displayed by suppliers.

Its Chief, Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh called on all Malaysians to download the 'Verify Halal' application to help verify halal status before making purchases.

“I urge all Malaysians, when you visit a shop and inspect halal logo, verify it first.

“If you check and it’s not in the system, please report it to Umno Youth. We will ensure that those using fake halal logos face severe punishment," he said in a video posted on Facebook on Tuesday.

This campaign comes after KK Super Mart & Superstore Sdn Bhd (KK Super Mart) suspended transactions with a manufacturer of ‘ham & cheese sandwiches’ following allegations of products with questionable halal status found in two of its outlets at Universiti Malaya (UM) recently.

In a statement, KK Super Mart confirmed that all processing of the product had been halted and it would not be distributed to other outlets while investigations are ongoing.

The company clarified that only 16 KK Concept Stores had received the product and that business dealings with the involved manufacturer had been frozen.

While KK Super Mart took swift action, Dr Akmal stressed that the company was also at fault for not verifying the halal status before selling the product.

“To all shops in the country, take this as a lesson. Ensure that food products labelled as halal have authentic halal certification and verify it.

"Let the authorities handle the investigation, but we call for firm action against fraudulent vendors who sell sandwiches with fake halal logos," he added.