KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 29 – Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) has failed to take an active role in the investigation of the "meat cartel” scandal that imports non-certified meat products.

The Port Dickson MP said Jakim should not shift the responsibility to other government agencies as they are the authoritative body that issues the halal certification to food products.

"This is the most despicable and shameful example of how the flesh and blood of the ummah can be violated,’’ said Anwar, referring to the sanctity of fellow Muslims required to eat Halal ingredients, the criteria of which are clearly defined under Islamic law.

"This is a Halal issue, not an issue under the ministry of agriculture...the one that issue the halal certification is Jakim so there must be a collective responsibility,’’ he said.

Anwar also said that there must be a political will to see those who have allegedly commit such crimes, brought to justice.

"I think it is unreasonable for Muslims and Malaysians to forgive such heinous acts and there must be a political will to immediately provide answers and punish these people who have misused religion.

"This is despicable. They used religion and at the same time poisoning the people,’’ said Anwar, referring to the perpetrators of the scandal.

Yesterday, Jakim Department of Islamic Development Malaysia’s (Jakim) research division senior director Datuk Sirajuddin Suhaimee said they are not involved in the investigation as the matter is already under probe by several other government agencies.

Last week, the media had reported the cartel’s tactic of smuggling frozen kangaroo and horse meat from certain countries and passing it off as beef by repackaging the meat and using the halal logo before selling it to supermarkets across Malaysia.