KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — The frozen squid rings product that was alleged on social media to be pig intestines is still under investigation by Malaysian authorities, Islamic Affairs Minister Datuk Idris Ahmad confirmed today.

In a statement, Idris also said priority is being given to the analysis of the product samples.

Idris, who is a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, explained the action taken by government bodies since the issue of the squid rings became viral.

He said the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry (KPDNHEP) had together with the relevant state Islamic affairs departments taken early action as soon as the matter became viral, by carrying out investigations and taking samples to be analysed.

He said the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) had also at the same time contacted Shandong Halal Certification Services (SHCS) — which is the halal certification body in China — to obtain verification regarding the product’s halal certificate, but did not say what was the outcome of such communications.

Without specifying the date, Idris said there was a discussion held recently between Jakim, KPDNHEP, and the three state Islamic affairs departments for Selangor, Kedah and Perlis, and that the report of the meeting was that investigations are still ongoing and that the food sample had been sent to the Chemistry Department of Malaysia for analysis and verification.

On behalf of his department overseeing the religious affairs portfolio, Idris thanked KPDNHEP and the three state Islamic affairs departments for quickly investigating and scrutinising the issue from all aspects, further thanking the Chemistry Department for "having given priority” for the analysis of the samples.

"The outcome of investigations will be notified officially by the relevant authorities after the result of the lab analysis is issued by the Chemistry Department of Malaysia,” he said in the statement, without giving a timeline of how soon this would be.

Idris concluded by saying that his department would take stern action if there is any non-compliance by any quarters towards rules that have been set, and said that the public could make complaints and refer to Jakim for further explanation if they have any doubts about products on the market.

On March 4, Jakim said it took note of the viral issue regarding squid rings alleged to be pig intestines or pig rectums, and that it was investigating this together with several state Islamic affairs departments and KPDNHEP and urged all against engaging in speculation until the investigation results are officially announced.

On March 9, the company which sold the squid rings said it would take legal action against two Internet users who had spread the fake news of the squid rings being pig intestines, and said a police report had been made against the duo.

The company said the fake accusation had damaged its reputation and sales in Perlis, Kedah, Penang, Selangor and Putrajaya.

The company reportedly said the authorities had taken eight boxes of samples from Kedah and six boxes of samples from Selangor on the mornings of March 5 and March 7 for testing, but that the government’s investigation results were not yet out.

The chief representative in Malaysia of SHCS — which assisted the company in receiving Jakim-approved Halal certification — Datuk Abd Aziz Jamaluddin had also on March 9 reportedly vouched for the product and said that the matter could be easily resolved with a lab test.

Previously, a social media post claimed the frozen squid rings sold by a company were actually pork intestines, and justified its allegation by saying that it should have spots on it if it was squid rings.