Yesterday, Siti Kasim, a lawyer and activist who advocates for human rights posted an image to with a sign that said ‘non-halal lift’ that has since stirred up controversy. She boasts a significant following of approximately 120k collectively and the image was uploaded to both her Facebook and Twitter accounts.



Siti is known for being outspoken and she questioned the rationale behind the sign and tagged ‘Four Points by Sheraton’, which was the hotel chain where the sign was placed. The posts quickly gained attention by netizens, who were mainly dumbfounded.

Some left sarcastic comments like that there would be non-halal toilets and changing rooms soon:


Another said that they would not want to stay in such a hotel:


Others had an explanation for this, stating that halal products cannot be moved using the same lift as non-halal products, but Siti quickly retorted saying that there would be no end to this and there soon would be roads that carry non-halal stuff and Grab cars that carry passengers with non-halal things.


Another remarked that this is known as the Halal Control Point (HCP), which to eliminate the potential contamination of halal food products with non-halal components:


One user mentioned that this was probably set in place for logistical reasons:


The Star has since stated that the hotel mentioned that this to ensure they received their halal certification which was part of the requirement set by authorities and that they would reword the sign better.

However, this has not placated Siti Kasim who wants to hear from JAKIM next which is the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia on the rationale they put on this requirement.



Image source: web.facebook.com/sitikasim