KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 1 — McDonald’s Malaysia has blamed Islamic authorities for its policy of allowing only halal-certified birthday cakes into its restaurants.

In an apology posted on its Facebook page, the fast food chain said its controversial rule was needed to comply with the stipulations of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), which is the sole authority for halal certification in the country.

"As a company that serves all Malaysians, we have never intended to discriminate against anyone. At McD, we have always practiced a ‘No outside food allowed’ policy, but have made exceptions for birthday cakes as they are important for celebrating special occasions.

"However, in order to maintain our Halal status, we have to ensure that all products consumed in our restaurants are Halal certified as required by Jakim,” it wrote.

The fast food chain is under criticism over its ruling, including from Muslim bakers who rejected the necessity for such a restriction, with some claiming that even Middle Eastern countries did not have such a rule.

Others also questioned the practicality of home bakers applying for halal certification for their cakes, pointing out that basic ingredients such as flour, eggs and sugar used in cakes were generally halal and intended for personal consumption.

Civil society group Centre for a Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) also reminded Jakim on Friday that its halal certification was for food served by restaurants, and not for the entire premises.

McDonald’s Malaysia on Thursday confirmed that it has enforced a policy barring customers from bringing cakes without halal certification into its premises.

It told Malay Mail Online that it required that such cakes be demonstrably halal, either through certification or logos, in order to safeguard its own halal status.

It did not directly name Jakim as the reason for the rule then, but has done so now.

Malay Mail Online has been trying to verify the ruling with Jakim since Friday.