Halal food issue at SEA Games

They are forbidden to eat pork and its derivatives, which, according to Islamic tradition, is the dirtiest among animals and other foods that are not halal. The latter are called haram, or taboo.

As we go to press, the formal opening ceremonies of the 30th Southeast Asian Games are ongoing. The parade of athletes resplendent in their uniforms, the pageantry of flaming colors, and the jubilation and back-patting has probably drowned out reports about the snafu or missteps in the preparation. Let me share my thoughts days before the kick-off last night.

I had the uneasy feeling that with this piece, I run the risk of being lumped with critics stigmatized as being unpatriotic. Anybody who gripes about the debacle and lapses in the preparation is branded a traitor who has no love for country. But patriotism and opining on the issues are different animals. To do otherwise will be abdicating one’s role as a journalist.

The word war between bashers and defenders of the preparation heated up like a cauldron, or kaldero (pun intended), on boiling temperature. Critics are even branded as allies of the political opposition trying to destabilize the event and, to a certain degree, the government.

But pictures of foreign athletes experiencing accommodation woes sleeping in hotel lounges, changing clothes in buses, food packages containing kikiam (street food), unfinished structures and traffic congestion are too palpable to be swept under the rug. These are tell-tale signs of lapses, if not negligence, in the preparation for the international athletic event.

Let me just comment on the complaint of foreign athletes who are Muslims — the food being served to them. They decried the lack of halal food. One Indonesian media officer was caught on television complaining that he accidentally ate pork. This may just be dismissed by uninitiated Filipinos as ordinary grumbling, but this is a big deal to Muslims.

As I wrote recently (DT, 11/17), Muslims are obliged by Islam to eat only halal food or the meat of animals and fowl that are slaughtered compliant to Islamic rituals. By express verse of the Holy Koran, they are forbidden to eat pork, and its derivatives, which, according to Islamic tradition, is the dirtiest among animals and other foods that are not halal. The latter are called haram, or taboo.

Malaysian National Sports Council director-general Datuk Seri Ahmad S. Ismail was quoted by Singapore’s Straits Times as saying, “Halal food is a big problem for those staying in hotels.” The Malaysians allegedly prepared their own halal food.

Singapore chef de mission Juliana Seow is reported to have written a letter to Phisgoc (Philippine Sea Games Organizational Committee) chief operating officer Ramon Suzara complaining of the lack of halal food for Muslim athletes.

The incident would not have caught nationwide interest if not for the revelation of the Office of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) that they have offered their services to help in attending to foreign Muslim athletes, especially in the preparation of their food, but were ignored by the organizing group. NCMF director Dimapuno Datu Ramos Jr. was quoted in media pointing to Games czar Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano as ignoring their offer made as early as September last year. “We were even the ones chasing them. Pinagpasa-pasahan kami (We were given the runaround),” he grumbled.

The NCMF is the government agency that regulates the halal industry. They have an office that accredits restaurants and other eateries serving halal food. That they were not given importance by the Games organizers was a blunder.

The SEA Games organizers overlooked two fundamental facts: one, that a big number of participants are coming from the Muslim countries of Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia; and two, the issue of halal food is fundamental to them. These places are dominated by Sunni Muslims strict on following the Islamic teaching on food allowable for them. Muslim clerics teach them that, in case of doubt, they should not eat food that is haram.

There would have been no problem if a representative of the NCMF was personally assuring Muslim athletes that the food being served underwent the Islamic ritual of preparation. Now, these athletes are complaining and NCMF is saying to organizers, “I told you so.”

Food is an important factor in the performance of an athlete. It fuels endurance, strength and good performance. One needs food to replenish nutrients and energy spent in exercise and training. One cannot perform well if he is bothered by doubts about the integrity of the food fed to him.