Stall with signboard in Malay sells pork curry rice, sparking controversy among Muslim netizens

A stall located in Rivervale Mall at Sengkang has been the subject of controversy among the Malay-Muslim community in Singapore over its signboard. 

It reads “Sedap Goreng”, which can be literally translated from Malay as “Delicious Fried” or perhaps understood as fried niceties. 

The menu is listed in another signboard — humble fare like nasi lemak, mee goreng, fried bee hoon, and a slew of curry rice including a dish that features braised pork. 

This is a point of contention for Muslim netizens, who have been sharing a photo of the stall across social media for the past few days. The cause of concern was how the stall is selling non-halal cuisine despite sporting a Malay name. 

Since the Malay community is predominantly Muslim, some netizens have stated that the stall’s name is misleading, warning other Malay-Muslims to be wary of the food stall. 

The picture has since made its way into multiple halal foodie groups and pages on Facebook, eliciting anger among local Malay-Muslims. 

This, despite the stall not touting itself as a halal food kiosk and the menu listing prominently braised pork curry rice, making it clear that it is not a Muslim-owned establishment. 

Many Malay-Muslim netizens pointed out that there’s nothing wrong with the stall name and it’d be the customers’ responsibility to be aware of what food they’re buying. 

Mohamed Khair Mohamed Noor, the founder of SuChi Halal Consultancy, chimed in with his thoughts on the matter and laid out the context behind why there needs to be some degree of thought taken when non-halal food establishments decide what to name their shops. 

“…For food business owners, given the multiracial and multicultural society in Singapore, there has to be greater sensitivity towards the use of such names so as not to be offending towards others,” he wrote in a post in the Halal Cafe & Restaurants in Singapore Facebook group. 

”If they do not target or have no intention to target the Malay market, then the next best thing to do is to have an unambiguous name that's so clear that the food business does not sell foodstuff catering to Malays who are generally Muslims,” he opined. 

ilyas@asiaone.com