KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 ― Muslim rights group Perkasa hit out today at the government for its “flip flop” over the halal status of Cadbury’s chocolates, likening the mysterious discovery of pig DNA in the confectionary to an old biscuit advertisement that carried the tagline, “Now you see it, now you don’t.”

Its secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali questioned the Ministry of Health's previous finding of porcine DNA in the chocolate batches and why this differed from the latest finding from the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim).

“I can equate this issue to that of the biscuit commercial... 'sekejap ada sekejap tak ada' (now you see, now you don't),” he told The Malay Mail Online in a text message, in sarcastic reference to an old Chipsmore biscuit commercial.

“It is a flip-flop which has affected the entire Cabinet,” the Perkasa leader said, adding that the group's religious bureau will be releasing a statement on the Cadbury issue soon.

He said the government’s volte-face over the halal status of two batches of Cadbury chocolates will lead to even more confusion among Muslims.

Earlier today, Jakim announced that the two batches of Cadbury chocolate products previously found tainted with porcine DNA have now been declared halal for Muslim consumption.

Datuk Seri Dr Jamil Khir Baharom, the minister in charge of Islamic religious affairs, said 11 samples of the confectionary giant’s Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut and the Cadbury Dairy Milk Roast Almond were sent straight from the factory to a special accredited laboratory for testing.

Cadbury’s Malaysian outfit had scrambled to recall two batches of chocolate products found tainted with porcine DNA by the Health Ministry last Saturday.

In response to this, Perkasa youth chief Irwan Fahmi Ideris blamed the Health Ministry for “jumping the gun” by conducting its own tests without prior consultation with Jakim.

“Why were they not more thorough in the matter? Now it is difficult to fix this, even though Jakim now says it is halal, if a Muslim is 'was-was' (unsure) of the chocolate's halal status, it is as good as it being haram.

“Muslims will be more confused now, it is difficult to undo this. The Health Ministry must answer why was there not a thorough investigation done,” he told The Malay Mail Online when contacted.

More than 20 Malay-Muslim groups have called for a nationwide boycott on all Cadbury products, saying that a holy war needs to be waged against the confectionary giant for attempting to “weaken” Muslims in Malaysia.

Rumours of the porcine taint first cropped up on social media sites two weeks ago, prompting the Health Ministry to carry out an analysis.