Teresa Kok’s take on the Halal certificates for F&B outlets in Malaysia has set a chain of events in motion. Following Dr Akmal’s fiery response, Teresa took legal action and demanded RM25 million from him for twisting her remarks.
While Dr Akmal is more than willing to see her in court, the UMNO Youth Chief of Kelantan disagrees with Teresa’s decision to send the Letter of Demand (LOD) to Dr Akmal.
“Teresa is only making the situation worse, and it’ll affect the political relation that has been formed,” Azmawi Fikri said in a statement posted on his Facebook.
Azmawi also made it clear that UMNO Youth in Kelantan fully supports Dr Akmal, the UMNO Youth Chief’s comments about Teresa’s take on the halal certification issues.
“We’re making sure that Muslims in the country will not be ridiculed by anyone.”
In his statement, Azmawi also shared what’s best for Teresa to do immediately – retract her statement.
“Teresa should retract her statement immediately, and make a public apology to all Muslims in Malaysia for her remarks, which was personal but hurtful to all Muslims.”
Azmawi also deemed Teresa’s remark on “Halal Certificates will make Malaysia an international embarrassment” an insult to Muslims. The Kelantan UMNO Youth Chief said that no one is forced to apply for the Halal certificates from JAKIM.
“No vendors are obligated but it will give the vendors an added value,” Azmawi said.
Following the LOD sent to the UMNO Youth Chief, Dr Akmal simply responded, “Okay Nyonya, see you in court.”
What do you think of Teresa’s take on this matter? To all food vendors, how was your experience applying for the certification?
