A Thaipusam push to petition for no-beef labels

Organiser tells of backing from Muslims in all-Malaysian support for Hindus and Buddhists.

KUALA LUMPUR: A community organisation that is raising a petition for beef-free labels on food products plans to use the coming Thaipusam festival to garner more signatures.

Malaysian Community Development Organisation president Jeevithan P Ganasan said volunteers would take to the streets of Penang and Ipoh during Thaipusam on February 3 to obtain 5,000 more signatures for the petition.

The petition is 25 short of its current target of 1,000 signatures.

Jeevithan said the volunteers would be located at Waterfall Hill Temple in Penang and Murugan Temple in Ipoh during Thaipusam, which brings out mostly Hindu devotees carrying out acts of penance, such as carrying the kavadi in a procession to the temple.

Jeevithan said some Malaysian Muslims had also signed the petition in support of practising Hindus and Buddhist who are prohibited by their religions from consuming the meat.

“We garnered signatures from Malay Muslims as well, who said that this was not a Hindu or Buddhist petition, rather a Malaysian one,” he was quoted as saying. One Malay woman signed the petition because her husband was allergic to beef, and food labels would make it easier for her to prepare his food.

He said support had also been received from the Muslim organisation Jihad for Justice Thasleem Mohamed Ibrahim Al-Haj.

The petition, started on January 12, will be sent to the Health Ministry.