Based\non Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) reports,\nthere are three seasons where food waste among Malaysians is more rampant than\nwhat we think or perceive. Two of these are festive seasons associated with\nMuslims namely the month of Ramadan and Hari Raya Puasa. The other one is the Chinese\nNew Year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\na joint research project conducted by SWCorp, University of Tsukuba, University\nof Technology Malaysia (UTM), Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia\n(IKIM) and Greentech Malaysia, the study reveals that 16,650 tonnes of food are\nwasted daily by Malaysians. Out of this figure, 3,330 tonnes are food that are\nstill edible or untouched i.e. in good condition and safe to be eaten.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In\na separate study, SWCorp was reported to have made a statement that throughout\nthe month of Ramadan 2018, the estimated food wasted nationwide reached 615,000\nmetric tonnes. Forty-three per cent or 270,000 metric tonnes of the quantity was\nfood that could still be consumed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\nmeans that on each day of Ramadan, a total of 9,00 tonnes of good food is\nthrown into rubbish bins and ended up in landfills where it creates harmful\neffects on Mother Nature. By comparison, during each day of Ramadan, there was\na rise in food waste of 5,670 tonnes\nas compared to normal days. Had the waste not accumulated, it could be fed three\ntimes a day to 6.5 million individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\nshameful increase is mainly attributed to the culture adopted by Malaysians\nwhere hotels and eateries compete to offer Ramadan buffets for breakfast and\nRamadan bazaars mushroom all over the country which offer \u201cfood galore\u201d for\nsome quarters to treat themselves with good food. Besides, there is a tendency\namong households to prepare excessive foods for Ramadan breaking fast assuming\nthat they could finish the meals prepared whereas in reality this is rarely the\ncase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This\nworrying situation raises a tricky question especially when it comes to the\nmatter of food, Muslims are very concerned about the \u201chalalness\u201d of food and\ndrink they consume. For Muslims can only eat halal food i.e. food and drink\nand\/or their ingredient permitted under the Shariah law; and being prepared,\nprocessed and handled according to Shariah law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However,\nmany do not realise that food which is bought using illicit proceeds such as\ngambling, bribery, fraud, theft or larceny is considered non halal even though\nthe food itself is made and processed according to Shariah guidelines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly,\nmany may not be aware that some of our consumption behaviours are not in line\nwith what Islam propagates. For instance, if a person eats halal food that he\npurchases with halal income but fails to clean his plate, he actually has\ncommitted a sin for disobeying Allah and going against His command i.e. the\ncommandment to avoid waste and extravagance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As\na complete way of life, Islam does not see things from a narrow perspective.\nThe \u201cpick and choose rule\u201d does not apply in Islam as all Shariah provisions\nshould be scrupulously observed. Hence, in the case of the food waste scenario\nin Malaysia, there exist ironies and contradictions between Islamic teachings\nand the reality happening in Muslim society. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nfirst irony is about the halal (the\nlawful<\/em>) and haram (the\nunlawful<\/em>) principle in Islam. Both have their own perimeter and they\nare mutually exclusive. Muslims therefore should only adhere to what is\npermissible under the Shariah law and abstain from haram practices or actions.\nThe paradox happens when halal and haram coincide and create a contradictory\nphenomenon. It appears when Muslims observe halal rule in their diet and at the\nsame time indulge in haram and prohibited acts i.e. being wasteful and\nextravagant in eating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\nare Quranic verses and prophetic traditions that prohibit Muslims from being\nwasteful, extravagant and improper use of Allah\u2019s bounties. For instance in surah al-A\u2019raaf<\/em> verse 31, Allah Almighty\nsays to the effect: O children of Adam! Attend to your embellishments at\nevery time of prayer, and eat and drink and be not extravagant; surely He does\nnot love the extravagant.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nsecond irony is that despite abundance of food being wasted, many Malaysians\nare going hungry and children are suffering from undernourishment and\nmalnutrition. The prevalence of homelessness has become a clear expression of\ninequality and poverty in major cities such as Kuala Lumpur. Many of these\nhomeless communities rely on the generosity from the public in getting food and\nbasic necessities. In the meantime, the UNICEF Malaysia\u2019s report \u201cChildren\nwithout: A study of urban child poverty and deprivation in low-cost flats in\nKuala Lumpur\u201d reveals that many children in low cost flats in Kuala Lumpur are\nmalnourished\u2014which is manifested by being stunted and underweight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In\na general prohibition of the practice of waste, Allah Almighty says to the effect\nin surah al-Isra\u2019 <\/em>verses 26 and\n27: And give to the near of kin his\ndue and (to) the needy and the wayfarer, and do not squander wastefully <\/em>[26]. Surely the squanderers are the\nfellows of the Shaitans and the Shaitan is ever ungrateful to his Lord <\/em>[27].<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike\nverse 31 of surah al-A\u2019raaf<\/em> which\nAllah specifically prohibits the wastage of food, in surah al-Isra\u2019<\/em>,the\nprohibition of being wasteful is in a general context and it covers all aspects\nof life including spending and utilising other resources. Interestingly, it\nstarts with an encouragement that we should contribute or give charity to\nrelatives and those in need. In case of food waste, it would be much better if\nwe could share food or anything beyond our needs to those in need. This is certainly\nmuch more meaningful than just throwing it away into the rubbish bins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed,\nRamadhan is a platform to train individuals to be more God-conscious and become\nobedient Muslims. Hence, it is highly ironic if we persist in doing things\nwhich are not in tandem with the values and teachings of Islam during the\nfasting month, and what is worse, it is more prevalent than the other months.\nNevertheless, we hope the situation will improve and we gradually start to\nconsume ethically and sustainably as enjoined by Islam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Based on Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) reports, there are three seasons where food waste among Malaysians is more rampant than what we think or perceive. Two of these are festive seasons associated with Muslims namely the month of Ramadan and Hari Raya Puasa. The other one is the Chinese New Year.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[225],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26036","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","category-225","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26036\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}