PETALING JAYA: The company manufacturing the homegrown whiskey Timah has agreed to consider changing the name and image on the label of their award-winning product, says the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.
Its Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said the firm, Winepak Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd, has asked for one week to discuss with its stakeholders and board of directors on changing the name and image on the product.
"This is among the joint decisions reached together in a meeting between the company representatives and the government on Wednesday (Oct 27).
"The hybrid meeting was conducted within a harmonious environment within the concept of Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) to reach a consensus for the good of the nation," he said in a statement on Thursday (Oct 28).
Alexander said that the meeting was held as the government took note of the issue surrounding the whiskey's brand name Timah, which has been the subject of discussion on social and electronic media since it was launched in early October.
The meeting followed the first discussion held between Winepak and the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) on Monday (Oct 25).
Alexander added that the ministry through MyIPO will improve the procedures, which involves multiple ministries and relevant agencies, so that a similar issue will not recur in the future.
"I hope that all parties can understand and give the government a chance to find the best solution for all parties involved," he said.
The whiskey Timah has courted the wrath of PAS and other Islamic groups in the nation due to its Bahasa Malaysia name.
Critics also argued that the portrait on the label of the Timah whiskey bottle looked like a man wearing a Muslim skullcap.
However, the manufacturer explained that the name Timah referred to tin mining in colonial Malaya while the man on its label is Captain Tristram Speedy, an English Officer in Malaya during the British Colonial era.