Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM) says the Puchong chicken plant raided on Oct. 30 held no Malaysian halal certificate. Police say its stunning equipment ran at 60 and 130 volts against a Selangor limit below 10. On Nov. 2, the religious affairs minister told Parliament the case sits with Selangor as MPs asked who is responsible.
Police believe the plant supplied eateries, grocery shops, and supermarkets across the Klang Valley without a valid halal certificate, and JAKIM says sales records from such premises are not in its monitoring records. The question MPs raised in the Dewan Rakyat on Nov. 2, who is accountable and where the chicken went, reaches Klang Valley restaurant operators, grocers, supermarkets, and halal regulators. None of the reports reviewed for this article names a buyer or records charges.
The plant did not hold the Malaysian Halal Certification, the certificate JAKIM issues, the New Straits Times reported on Oct. 31. Bernama said the same in its report that day on a statement by religious affairs minister Zulkifli Hasan. JAKIM director-general Datuk Dr Sirajuddin Suhaimee said chickens must still be alive when slaughtered and that if they had died before slaughter, they would be considered carrion. He stated that as a condition, and what happened at Puchong remains under investigation.
Restaurant owners receiving supplies from the company were told to stop using them immediately and to report suspicious information to the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS), JAKIM, or the police, Malay Mail reported on Oct. 31. Those reports quote no official saying which body answers for chicken already sold, and none gives a date.
Account of the Cause Moved From Hot Water to Water-Bath Stunning
Police and the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) now describe excess voltage, where the first account on Oct. 30 described hot water. The Star reported that day that the birds had allegedly been immersed in a hot-water bath until they died. On Oct. 31, MAIS chairman Datuk Salehuddin Saidin said investigators found the plant used electric water baths to stun the birds, at a voltage that killed them before slaughter, Bernama and Free Malaysia Today reported.
On Nov. 1, after inspecting the plant, Datuk Muhammad Abdul Halim, deputy director (operations) of the police Internal Security and Public Order Department at Bukit Aman, gave the figures: 60 volts at the first gate and 130 volts at the second, against a JAIS requirement below 10 volts, Bernama reported. Under halal slaughter requirements, electrical stunning is permitted only if it does not kill the poultry before slaughter, the New Straits Times reported on Oct. 31. Reports so far do not explain why the first account changed.
Police Say 40,000 Is Machine Capacity, Not a Daily Count
Police have not said how many chickens the Puchong plant actually processed. Muhammad Abdul Halim said that, based on the machine’s capacity, the premises can process more than 40,000 chickens a day, and that the actual number is still under investigation. In the Dewan Rakyat on Nov. 2, Syahredzan Johan, the MP for Bangi, said “40,000 carcasses a day, but we don’t know where they went,” and asked whether the ministry would consider disclosing where the chickens were sent, the New Straits Times reported.
Syahredzan’s figure goes further than police: they have given a capacity, not a count. The chicken police have actually counted is the seizure, 468 plastic packages holding an estimated 6,555 kg of raw chicken worth about RM85,400, said Datuk Mohd Zaki Ashar, commander of the police unit that ran the raid, according to The Star.
Mohd Zaki said police believe customers in Damansara, Bangi, Puchong, Cheras, Putra Perdana, Putrajaya, and other Klang Valley areas received the chicken. Muhammad Abdul Halim said police are still identifying the premises that received supplies.
JAKIM Says Firms Without Permits Cannot Apply for a Halal Certificate
JAKIM says companies without valid permits or licenses cannot apply for the Malaysian Halal Certification, because one requirement is a municipal council license. The New Straits Times reported on Oct. 31 that the premises were suspected of slaughtering, processing, and distributing fresh chicken without permits or approval from the local authorities.
Any sales records from the premises are therefore not included in JAKIM’s monitoring records, the report said. It does not say whether the plant ever applied for certification, a process with its own JAKIM fees and hidden costs.
Sirajuddin said enforcement agencies can act within their own jurisdictions to stop sales, segregate stocks, carry out recalls, or seize identified supplies, the New Straits Times reported. JAKIM took part in the Puchong operation, Bernama reported, and The Star reported that JAIS, the Selangor Department of Environment, the Petaling District Health Office, and police each acted under separate laws.
Selangor Chief Minister (Menteri Besar) Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said on Nov. 2 that halal certification bodies and local authorities must conduct regular inspections of such premises, Bernama reported. He also called on authorities to consider stern action, including prosecution. Neither his statement nor JAKIM’s says which body had the duty to inspect a plant that MAIS says has operated since 2004.
Zulkifli Hasan Places the Case With Selangor as MPs Ask Who Is Responsible
Zulkifli Hasan told the Dewan Rakyat that the investigation sits with the state and that JAKIM stands ready to assist. “This is still at the investigation stage and it is under the Selangor government,” he said, according to the New Straits Times. He added that agencies had coordinated and run joint operations, although there were legal constraints.
Datuk Seri Mohd Radzi Md Jidin, the MP for Putrajaya, said it appears that no party takes real responsibility when an issue this large arises, and asked why the name of the factory and its operator had not been disclosed. The report of the exchange records no pledge to name buyers.
Puchong Follows Other Malaysian Halal Cases This Year
Malaysian agencies acted on at least three other halal compliance cases this year, none tied to Puchong in the reports cited here. In a separate Kuala Lumpur case, the New Straits Times reported on Oct. 21, Sirajuddin said chicken from a site near Pudu Market carried no Malaysian Halal Certification Certificate from JAKIM or any state Islamic religious authority.
The second shares a police operation name. In May, under Ops Taring Chiller, police raided a Kajang premises and seized an estimated 167,143.73 kg of meat worth RM12.4 million, The Sun reported.
The third turned on a document. The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency seized 26,040 kg of frozen chicken worth RM208,320 at Bukit Kayu Hitam on June 8, The Star reported, and JAKIM confirmed on June 12 that the halal certificate submitted was fake. At Puchong, JAKIM says there was no certificate.
Remand Runs to Nov. 13 With the Plant Under a Two-Week Closure
The Puchong plant is under a two-week closure under health regulations, Malay Mail reported. Police are holding the 12 foreign men arrested in the raid on remand. Muhammad Abdul Halim said the owner has given a statement, which the reports do not detail, and that further action depends on the investigation. The remand runs until Nov. 13, he said.
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