Another food chain has been gotten themselves into trouble.
This time, burger chain Ninja Joe has been accused of “confusing consumers” by naming one of their pork burgers P. Ramly, after the well-known burger company, Ramly.
The “P” in P. Ramly stood for pork, and the poster clearly stated that the burger has a “juicy pork patty”, but a consumer group has gotten all riled up over the issue. The head of the Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia (PPIM), Datuk Nadzim Johan, has urged the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK) to take action against the restaurant, as they stated that it is an offence to mislead consumers on purpose.
“According to the Consumer Protection Act 1999, action can be taken against businesses who give a confusing picture about their goods or services,” explained Nadzim.
The consumer group wasn’t the only one complaining, as Berita Harian ran an investigation, and found out that several members of the public were upset too. They quoted a complainant named Jasmin, who said, “Why use the name P Ramly? There are other names that doesn’t sound like a Malay name or a prominent local actor that can be used to attract non-Muslim customers.”
Ninja Joe has also responded to the controversy. In a Facebook post earlier today (Tuesday, 25th October), they responded to the public, and informed that they will be changing the name of the burger. A poll was then run, and the burger will then be renamed to the one with the highest votes.
In a short interview with The Malay Mail Online, Ninja Joe founder Kelvin Tan said, “The Ramly Burger has been in Malaysia for a very long time; it’s iconic. It’s a homage to them. That’s why we came up with the ‘P. Ramly’. It’s got nothing to do with the actor. It’s purely a coincidence. The ‘P’ is for pork ― ‘Pork Ramly’.”
Do you think the name is misleading? Or do you think that this hoo-ha is all over nothing?
Sources: The Malay Mail Online (1) (2), Malaysiakini.
