Malaysia burger joint Ninja Joe's P. Ramly pork burger halal controversy

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Burger joint Ninja Joe’s word play on the popular Ramly halal burger and 1960s Malay screen legend P. Ramlee fell flat.

Malaysian authorities investigate burger joint for ‘P. Ramly’ pork burger name

Malaysia said it may act against food outlet Ninja Joe for naming one of its pork burgers “P. Ramly”, a play on 1960s Malay movie legend P.Ramlee and the popular Ramly halal burgers.

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Islamic authorities and the consumer affairs ministry are investigating local burger joint Ninja Joe for naming a pork burger “P. Ramly” - a play on the popular Ramly halal burger patties and 1960s Malay screen legend P. Ramlee.

The founder and owner of Ramly burger patties, Datuk Ramly Mokni, has said that he is asking his lawyer for advice on the matter.

The latest controversy over fast food in Malaysia comes just a week after pretzel chain Auntie Anne’s tangled with the Islamic authorities over its naming of its hot dog offering “pretzel dogs”.

Halal food - food permissible for consumption by Muslims - is a sensitive issue in Malaysia as Muslims turn more conservative.

Ninja Joe proprietor Kelvin Tan told the Malay Mail Online (MMO) news site that the burger joint chose the name “P. Ramly” to pay homage to the country’s No. 1 burger brand, Ramly, when the product was launched on independence day at the end of August.

“The Ramly burger has been in Malaysia for a very long time; it’s iconic. It’s a homage to them,” he told MMO, adding that the letter “P” stands for pork.

But Mr Ramly, who heads the Ramly Group, said: “This is a very dangerous issue. If you want to do that for any halal products, then it’s a different matter. But this (the pork burger) is not halal.”

Ninja Joe has now said it is withdrawing the controversial burger.

“In order to avoid public confusion, we’ve removed posters of the burger from our outlets and have ceased the use of the P. Ramly name with immediate effect,” the burger joint said on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

But that has not stopped the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism from saying it may act against the burger joint if it is found to have misled consumers.

The Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia demanded action as the burger’s name has “confused” the public.

Malaysia’s Berita Harian (BH) newspaper quoted a woman on Tuesday as saying that the “P. Ramly” name was disrespectful to the late actor, Tan Sri P. Ramlee.

The Veteran Artistes Association has filed a police report asking for action against Ninja Joe for what it deems to be provocation against the Muslim community by using a name that mirrors the Malay screen icon’s, BH reported on Wednesday.

That is not all. Ninja Joe, which has outlets in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, has been visited by the Islamic authorities in the two states.

Officials quoted by BH said they have completed their investigations on the matter after confiscating a piece of bunting, a menu and a sales receipt.

Source: The Straits Times

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Ninja Joe: Hi Guys,

We understand a bit of a brouhaha has emerged, so just to clarify

1. The Ramly burger is an iconic Malaysian burger and we paid homage to it during Merdeka (“it” referring to the style of preparation where the patty is wrapped in an egg and paired with a variety of sauces; not the Ramly brand)
2. The ‘P’ in front simply stood for ‘Pork’. So its a ‘Pork Ramly’ burger. Resemblance to the actor is purely coincidental.
3. The actor’s name is spelled with an ‘ee’. The burger is spelled with a ‘y’.

We have taken down the posters and are in the process of changing the name. You could help suggest a new name for it in the online poll

Ninja Joe: Hey guys,

After clarifying in our previous post, we realize that feathers were still ruffled; so for that we apologize. It was never our intention to offend.

In order to avoid public confusion, we’ve removed posters of the burger from our outlets and have ceased the use of the P. Ramly name with immediate effect.

We will also extend our cooperation to any relevant parties involved. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

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Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim): Burger daging babi: KPDNKK akan ambil tindakan‎

PUTRAJAYA - Kementerian Dalam Negeri, Koperasi dan Kepenggunaan (KPDNKK) akan mengambil tindakan ke atas pengusaha restoran yang bertanggungjawab mengeluarkan burger daging babi menggunakan nama P Ramly.

Menterinya, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin berkata, KPDNKK mempunyai akta boleh diambil tindakan ke atas mana-mana pengusaha yang mengelirukan pengguna.

Beliau berkata, pihaknya telah menyiasat pengusaha jualan burger babi di restoran di Lembah Klang, Melaka dan Negeri Sembilan.

“Penguat kuasa kita berjumpa pengusaha terbabit dan membincangkan perkara ini kelmarin. Kita akan ambil tindakan sepatutnya jika kita pasti mereka buat kesalahan mengikut peruntukan sedia ada,” katanya.

Difahamkan, menu baharu itu diperkenal sempena sambutan Hari Merdeka dengan harga RM9.90 satu set.

Ia menimbulkan pelbagai reaksi dalam kalangan pelanggan beragama Islam, yang mendakwa mereka keliru burger P Ramly adalah burger keluaran syarikat Bumiputera, jenama Ramly Burger berstatus halal.

Memetik laporan sebuah akhbar semalam, pengeluar daging burger Ramly Food Processing Sdn Bhd turut mempertikai kelewatan pihak berkuasa bertindak selepas mereka mengemukakan aduan sejak tiga minggu lalu.

Mereka turut mempersoal tindakan pihak berkenaan menggunakan nama Ramly yang juga mirip seniman agung negara, Tan Sri P Ramlee.

Sementara itu, pemilik restoran tersebut, Ninja Joe melalui Facebooknya menyatakan, mereka akan terus jual burger tersebut dan hanya akan menukar nama lain.

Menurutnya, perkataan Ramly untuk burger daging babi itu adalah penghormatan kepada jenama Ramly sebagai pengeluar burger ternama di negara ini, tiada kaitan dengan pelakon P Ramlee dan ia satu kebetulan.

Difahamkan, huruf ‘P’ merujuk daging babi, ‘Pork Ramly’.

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Burger babi P Ramly: JAIS, JHEAINS siasat restoran

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Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim):

The Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) and its Negri Sembilan counterpart have reportedly run their own investigations against Ninja Joe and confiscated several items in their outlets, although the pork burger chain is owned by non-Muslims.

Berita Harian quoting a source from Jais said the agency had already handed over its investigation papers to the Domestic Trade, Co-operative and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNKK) hoping for prosecution. “Investigation papers had been finalised and handed over to KPDNKK for the purpose of prosecuting.

“Jais together with officials from KPDNKK had conducted inspections on the premise in Kota Damansara and we confiscated a bunting, menu and a receipt of the sales of P Ramly burger for investigation,” the source was quoted as saying.

-themalaymailonline