Malaysia is home to nearly 19 million Muslim citizens. So it’s no surprise the country takes a keen interest in halal-certified food.
But rather more of a surprise is the government interest in the naming of hot dogs. Yes, hot dogs.
The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (MIDD), a body within the national government, has pledged to deny halal certification to hot dogs if they remain named as “hot dogs”.
The new ruling comes after complaints were made by Muslim tourists, who find the word “dog” to be at odds with the concept of “halal”.
"In Islam, dogs are considered unclean and the name cannot be related to halal certification," Director of the MIDD, Sirajuddin Suhaimee, tells BBC News.
To accommodate these complaints, Malaysian Halal Certification guidelines now read "halal food and halal artificial flavour shall not be named or synonymously named after non-halal products such as ham, bak kut teh (a pork-rib dish cooked in broth), bacon, beer, rum and others that might create confusion,” reports local Malaysian media.
Hot dogs, like these, could lose their halal certification if they don't change their names. (via AAP)
One company to be affected by the new legislation is ‘Auntie Anne’, a US franchise with outlets in Malaysia. The department takes issue with one specific product sold by the pretzel chain - their “pretzel dogs” which are hot dog sausages encased in pretzel dough.
Director Suhaimee believes it would be “more appropriate” to call the product a “pretzel sausage”.
Though the MIDD is taking this all very seriously, Malaysian Tourism Minister Nazri Aziz believes the ruling makes his fellow citizens seem “stupid and backward”.
Auntie Anne's "Pretzel Sausages". (via AAP) Source: AAP
"Hot dog is hot dog lah. Even in Malay it's called hot dog - it's been around for so many years. I'm a Muslim and I'm not offended," he told local reporters outside parliament this week.
Hot dogs! Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs!
Hot dog (pancho)
