KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs), Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar advised Muslims to ensure restaurants they go to dine or get their food have halal status issued by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim).

"I advise the Muslim community to be careful when going to restaurants and places to eat. As Muslims, we should check if there is a halal logo or not.

"I repeat what JAKIM said, the owner of the restaurant is not the holder of the Malaysian halal certificate,”: he said when asked to comment on a recent viral video regarding the halal status of a chicken rice in claypot dish which used rice wine sold at a premises in Seri Petaling.

He told this to reporters when met at the launch of TH Khairat at Menara Tabung Haji here today.

Mohd Na’im also advised Muslims to surf the Halal Malaysia official portal at halal.gov.my or download the Verify Halal application to enable them to know whether a restaurant has been issued with a halal certificate or not.

Commenting on the ‘TH Khairat’ product, which is takaful protection of RM12,000 for beneficiaries in the event of death or total disability, he said it offers subscriptions as low as RM28 per year for depositors.

"I see this effort as in line with the concept of Malaysia Madani,” he added. — Bernama