Halal and the Tom Yam set

I don’t know if you guys have been forwarded with a chain e-mail with the title, Beware of Tom Yam Set, or something like that. I have received a number of times from, should I say, all four corners of the world. Maybe if the penguins in the Arctic could send emails, I would have received from them too.

Seriously, Halal or its opposite, Haram, are sensitive issues. Halal (حلال, ḥ alāl , halaal ) is an Arabic term meaning “permissible”. Its halal to have body contacts once you are married; its halal when the food we eat are from sources that Muslims know where it’s origin is from, etc.

Now this Tom Yam set e-mail said to be aware with the paste that comes along with the package. Its readily available in major supermarkets, go check them out now before they are being withdrawn because of this issue. The e-mail said the paste contains a label, clearly printed as (excused the English from the label): ’DIRECTIONS: Mix in any kind of food and soup for hot flavour. Spread [could't be seen]…the bread, dip crisp rice sheets, pork cracklings’.

Yes, pork was mentioned there. This is where the confusion and flurry of e-mails start. I replied to one of the e-mail rounds, saying that, maybe what was actually meant was that the paste could be used as a dip for rice sheets and pork cracklings, not that the paste contain pork as you can see from the ingredients. Pork cracklings is by the way, the skin of pig made as a snack. 

I hope I have cleared the air there, just be sure to check if there is a ’Halal’ label in the packet; if it’s not, Muslims, you know the drill.   

Halal is a sensitive issue in Brunei. Recently a popular restaurant was rumoured to have been serving non-Halal pau or buns to its Muslims customers. The restaurant must have really feel the pinch, as expected, as its customers become less and less. It did, as I saw from the local dailies, advertised to explain the situation, which sound like a rebuttal to the rumours. Many years back, a popular brand of bread also suffered the same fate. It took years to build your image and just one second to see its collapse. I don’t want to start speculating that it’s all down to business rivalry? 

Anyway, a simple rule of thumb is if you are unsure, leave it. Like me.

Babu I love you…Babu I care…

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes it’s an empty box for my beloved mom. I just don’t have the right image or the right words to express how grateful I am for what she has done to me and my other siblings and her sons and daughters in-law and not forgetting the growing number of grand-children! She’s a full time house-wife and during her time, girls were not allowed to venture out from their home boundaries, let alone go to school though mom admitted that she actually did with her partner-in-crime.  

I wouldn’t say she’s illiterate because she can read and write fairly, through her own will and determination. She has a lot of ideas and solutions that we, her children, agree that she could be a minister if she did really go to school and receive ‘proper’ education.

I admire her when I was little and now I still do. When I was young, my friends and I would talked on what we would be when I grow up. One said a doctor, an army officer, a pilot, fireman (hehe – the usual stuff kids would say) and me? I said I would be just like my mom.

 

Why? Because I grew up seeing her everyday like she has no problems in life. I didn’t recall any, yes there were arguments in the family, but there were no qualms from her. She raised a dozen (yes, 12) of us and I must say that each of us are all successful in our own way.  One of the tips she gave to us was that she would always say ‘Bismillah’ or By the name of God, when ever she would touch something or start her task. I think this is what we Malays call ‘berkat’ or blessed.

Now in her early seventies, she doesn’t look like anyone her age. She still jogs, do yoga with me, drive a car and should I say, Alhamdullilah, with a perfect eye-sight. I like it when we do girls’ things – shopping; spa; manicure…potong kain or going to the tailor, though not every week though. I know I haven’t given her much attention of late due to work and family but she will always have that special place in my heart.

I have so much to write here and endless examples of how good she has always been as a mother that I don’t know where to start. So I would like to dedicate this post to my beloved mom who is still strong at >70. I love you babu…