'Ham' joke gone too far: Harith Iskander faces backlash, MY police submits investigation to AGC

The Malaysian police will reportedly be submitting investigation papers regarding the 'ham' joke made by comedian Harith Iskander to the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC).

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said that the police have recorded a statement from a 64-year-old woman, who had reportedly left a controversial comment on Harith's recent Facebook post regarding 'Ham Sap Kopi' (wet and salty coffee). According to Malay Mail, the police had questioned her and she admitted to posting the comment. She also explained leaving a comment in response to the comedian's post who was confused with the word 'ham'.

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Meanwhile, the police also took the statement of comedian Harith who posted the joke on Facebook. In the Facebook post seen by A+M, Harith shared a photo of the coffee drink (called hamsap) with the accompanying caption, "I'm so confused. My iman tergugat (My faith is at risk). This coffee will lead me down the wrong path in so many ways." 

"Not just tempting me to become hamsap but also confusing me with the word ham in it. Is this to drink or eat? I must make a police report because I am so weak, I have lost all ability to use logic. Who else is confused?" said Harith. 'Ham Sap' is also colloquially known as lewd and perverted in Cantonese. 

According to media reports, the actor was accused of posting the content during the controversy surrounding the halal status of ham and cheese sandwiches. Harith's joke came after KK Mart was caught in a halal ham and cheese controversy. The mart had allegedly misplaced the halal logo on its ham and cheese sandwiches and supplied to the outlets within the University Malaya campus grounds in Petaling Jaya. The stores were ordered to close temporarily.

The police had also received 16 reports about Harith's joke and have initiated an investigation under Sections 298 and 505 of the penal code, and under Section 233 of the Communications and Media Act 1998. 

The comedian's upcoming show at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) has also been cancelled. Harith's wife Jezamine Lim Isakander explained in a Facebook post that the cancellation was "the best decision for us and our family", citing that she received death threats as well as abuse directed towards their children. 

"I am utterly disheartened by how mindless mob mentality can drive people to such extremes. Yes, you have every right to disagree with or be offended by someone’s words – emotions are natural – but to sink so low as to send threats to a person’s family? To target children? How do you justify that? Is this truly what you believe protects your religion or your beliefs? It saddens me to see people so consumed by hate that they dedicate hours upon hours to trolling, spreading anger, and writing paragraphs of abusive comments online - are you driven by religion?" said Lim.

Lim added that the family trust the authorities to handle the matter professionally and that the family will continue to focus on family, safety and the people who have supported them. 

Controversy around KK Mart's halal ham and cheese sandwiches

The department of Islamic development Malaysia (JAKIM) has released an explanation regarding the halal status of the doubted sandwich by KK Mart. After an on-site investigation together with the ministry of domestic trade and cost of living (KPDN), it found that the ham and cheese sandwich did not have a Malaysian halal certification certificate (SPHM) and that legal action was taken by KPDN. 

JAKIM added that the action of printing the Malaysian halal logo on a product label is an offense under the trade information Act 2011. It then advised consumers to check the halal status of a product through the Malaysia halal portal or the 'Verify Halal' application to make sure that a product has been halal certified by an authority. 

UMNO youth chief Muhammad Akmal Saleh has also taken to TikTok to express his outrage. In the TikTok video, he highlighted that "ham" contains pork and asked how a sandwich containing pork could have a halal label on it. He then reminded KK Mart that the Muslim community are still angry regarding the religious sock controversy, adding that this matter will not be taken lightly. 

Following the incident, KK Mart has released a statement stating that it has taken legal action against its food supplier Shake and Bake Cafe for misusing the Malaysian halal certificate. It has also stopped business dealings with the supplier and has issued a letter of demand, reported The Star. 

In its statement, KK Mart said that the sandwich supplier had provided a halal certificate for the chicken ham and cheese layers for reference and that it was not authorised to use the KK Super Mart logo on the sandwich packaging. 

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