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View all search resultsMedan's non-halal meat ban draws criticism from impacted traders
In a belated turnaround after non-halal meat traders blasted the new policy issued nearly two weeks ago, the mayor has indicated that he is now open to community feedback.
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Shoppers wear face masks on March 14, 2020, as they choose cuts of pork at a fresh meat vendor at a market in Phnom Penh during the COVID-19 pandemic. (AFP/TANG CHHIN Sothy )
M
edan’s recently issued ban on roadside sales of non-halal meat has met with a backlash as critics condemned the policy as discriminatory toward non-Muslim vendors and a threat to the North Sumatra capital’s multicultural identity.
Lamsiang Sitompul, a representative of a local pork traders’ community, called on Mayor Rico Waas to revoke the ban, warning that vendors would stage a rally in front of the mayor’s office and the local Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) building if the policy is not withdrawn.
“Mayor Rico should focus more on addressing fundamental problems in Medan, such as flooding, traffic congestion and prostitution, rather than regulating the sale of non-halal meat, which has never been an actual issue in the city,” Lamsiang said recently.
He also rejected allegations that selling pork in public spaces was unhygienic, highlighting that non-halal meat sold by street vendors had passed proper inspections and was processed at licensed slaughterhouses.
Separately, Binsar Simarmata of the Medan Legislative Council criticized the mayor for issuing the ban without prior dialogue with non-halal meat traders.
“The vendors should have been invited to sit down together to seek a solution. There should not be a sudden ban that risks provoking resistance,” Binsar said on Tuesday.
He also cautioned the ban could escalate into a sensitive ethnic or religious issue in the city, where social life had long been relatively harmonious without significant friction among its diverse religious communities. The rash, unilateral manner in which the ban was issued could upset the delicate social balance that had been maintained over the years, Binsar said.
