This is turning out to be the scandal that melts in your mouth, not in your hand. Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM), a Malay rights group, has decided to take Cadbury to court over the release of its Dairy Milk Hazelnut and Dairy Milk Roast Almond chocolate bars tainted with porcine (read: pig) DNA saying that by doing so, the multinational confectionery had “insulted” and “mistreated” Muslims in the country.
JMM president Azwanddin Hamzah said the group’s litigation plan will be to drag Cadbury into court on the grounds of consumer negligence and for “misleading” Muslims. He also said that Cadbury needed to be “taught a lesson” for belittling the Islamic faith in Malaysia.
“They stuffed pigs into our mouths, then apologised. This cannot be allowed. The sensitivities of Malays and Muslims have been challenged,” Azwanddin said in Malay at a news conference, as reported by The Malay Mail Online.
“Cadbury has no excuse. They have been here for a long time. The majority of their consumers are Malays… even my children have consumed the tainted products,” he added.
Azwanddin said the JMM has received e-mails from over 700 Malay consumers, all expresssing a desire to take legal action against Cadbury.
“We want to sue Cadbury for RM100 million, and we will divvy up the money among those affected… if they can’t pay up they must shut down their operations here,” Azwanddin added.
On Saturday, Cadbury Confectionery Malaysia Sdn Bhd went into high gear, recalling two batches of its chocolate products that were found to be tainted with porcine DNA by the Health Ministry. The company said it was informed that samples of its Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut and the Cadbury Dairy Milk Roast Almond that had been sent to the ministry had “tested positive for traces of porcine DNA”.
The Malaysian Islamic Department has suspended the halal certification for both batches of the Cadbury products in question.
Azwanddin said that the Cadbury issue showed the rights of Malays were constantly challenged and disrespected even though they were the majority race in Malaysia.
“Minorities have to respect the majority, that is how it should work,” he added.
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