KUALA LUMPUR - An Islamic agency responsible for halal certification has been at the receiving end of a public backlash over a scandal involving tainted halal meat and cakes sold in halal-certified shops.

Malaysians have decried the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) for being more preoccupied with policing halal-certified shops than in reassuring the public after news reports emerged that a syndicate had for decades imported non-certified meat, including potentially diseased kangaroo and horse meat, to be sold as halal beef in the local market.