Dr Zulkifli experiencing how food is cooked at the Petaling Jaya gurdwara, flanked by GSPJ committee president Awtar Singh Terry

By Asia Samachar Team | Malaysia |

A former Malaysian federal minister and state mufti visited a Malaysian gurdwara that has been churning out thousands of hot vegetarian meals for flood victims for the last few days. His verdict: The food is ‘halal‘ for the Muslims.

The green light came after Dr Zulkifli Mohamad al-Bakri visited Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya (GSPJ) today (22 Dec).

The view should assuage the apprehension of some Muslims who had questioned the if the food was halal for them to consume.

“It is permissible to eat food from non-Muslims who are not People of the Book as long as it does not involve meat slaughtered by them,” he said in a social media entry after the visit. (The original text, in Malay: Hukum Muslim memakan makanan daripada bukan Muslim yang bukan ahli kitab adalah dibolehkan selagi mana tidak melibatkan haiwan sembelihan mereka.)

Dr Zulkifli was the Mufti of the Federal Territories before being tapped as Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Religious Affairs in the Perikatan Nasional administration under former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin from March 2020 to August 2021.

Gurdwaras worldwide usually have kitchens where large scale vegetarian meals are cooked for the congregation. The meals, called Guru Ka Langgar, are vegetarian and does not consist alcohol so that it can be consumed by people of all persuasions. The Darbar Sahib in Amritsar, popularly known as the Golden Temples, is badged as the world’s largest community kitchen feeding 100,000 hot meals daily.

Since Sunday (Dec 19), GSPJ had been producing some 10,000 packed meals daily – all freshly cooked and packed by volunteers at the gurdwara – to be distributed to the flood victims of one of the worst flooding incident in the recent years in Malaysia. The gurdwara has also set-up a call centre to receive calls from flood victims and organised delivery of the meals. Neighbouring Shah Alam gurdwara has followed suit, whipping up 5,000 packs of meals a daily.

But some had cast doubts if the gurdwara food was permissible for Muslims, asking if they can consume it ‘tanpa was-was‘ (without hesitation). At the same time, some Malaysian Muslims had vouched for the food prepared at GSPJ.

“Saya Muslim. Saya tahu halal haram. Saya volunteer di Gurdwara smlm. Saya bantu sedia makanan & makan juga masa lunch break. Ya HALAL. Vegetarian only. Kpd yg pertikai tu, tlg jgn jadi toxic sgt musim bencana ni. Rakyat Msia semua nak bantu mangsa,” tweeted Sharifah Shahidah, a former deputy secretary-general of political party PKR.

Here’s Dr Zulkifli’s full entry:

Saya mengenali agama Sikh melalui konsep “seva” iaitu khidmat sukarela tanpa mengharapkan sebarang balasan. Dalam Islam, konsep yang sama juga boleh kita temui iaitu “ikhlas”, perbuatan samada ibadah khusus mahupun umum yang dilakukan hanya kerana Allah SWT.

Terima kasih kepada Presiden Gurdwara Sahib Petaling Jaya – GSPJ, En. Awatar Singh Terry dan seluruh Jawatankuasa GSPJ atas jemputan yang disampaikan kepada saya. Saya dibawa meninjau proses penyediaan juadah untuk mangsa banjir daripada dapur sehinggalah ke meja bungkusan. Amat bersih dan kemas.

Atas insiatif saya bermula tahun lalu ketika menjawat jawatan Menteri, konsep “soup kitchen” seperti ini turut dibuat di masjid dan surau di Wilayah Persekutuan sejak mulanya Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan dan diberi nama Dapur It’am. Alhamdulillah, saya dikhabarkan ia masih diteruskan sehingga hari ini.

Penganut Sikh mengamalkan diet vegetarian. Ini bermakna, mereka sama sekali tidak menjamah daging. Hukum Muslim memakan makanan daripada bukan Muslim yang bukan ahli kitab adalah dibolehkan selagi mana tidak melibatkan haiwan sembelihan mereka.

Saya diberi taklimat gerak kerja yang dimulakan sejak hari Jumaat lalu apabila mendapat khabar berkenaan musibah banjir. Mereka berkerja secara bergotong-royong dan disertai pelbagai bangsa, agama serta pelbagai latar belakang untuk menyiapkan juadah makanan kepada mangsa banjir.

Penghantaran setiap hari amat pantas dengan bantuan 20 buah trak pikap ke sekitar Selangor, Kuala Lumpur bahkan Pahang. Sesungguhnya saya amat terharu dengan kerjasama tanpa rasa sebarang penat lelah semata-mata menzahirkan semangat membantu yang amat luar biasa.

Saya amat kagum melihat pengurusan sistem agihan bantuan yang melibatkan pelbagai agama dan bangsa. Semuanya tersusun dan lengkap dengan dokumentasi. Ini amat penting bagi menjamin integriti dan profesionalisme.

Mewakili Muslim Council of Elders – Malaysia dan Surau Al-Makrifah, saya berbesar hati menyampaikan sumbangan untuk tujuan penyediaan makanan kepada mangsa banjir. Melihat suasana yang penuh muhibah dan harmoni, sewajarnya kita bersyukur menjadi rakyat Malaysia.

RELATED STORY:

Klang Valley Floods: PJ gurdwara getting non-stop calls, Tatt Khalsa open doors for temporary shelter (Asia Samachar, 20 Dec 2021)

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