KUCHING, Oct 28: Winepak, the producer of award-winning Malaysian-made Timah whiskey, will consider changing its name and image label.
Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi said that Winepak has asked to be given a one-week period to discuss the matter with its shareholders and board of directors.
“This is among the decisions reached from a discussion with the representatives of the company together with the government yesterday.
“The hybrid meeting was conducted in a harmonious atmosphere to reach an agreement for the betterment of the country.
“This meeting is also a follow-up to the first meeting held between Winepark and MyIPO on Oct 25,” he said in a statement today.
The whiskey manufacturer had recently found itself at the center of a controversy after certain quarters took offence at the name of the product, claiming that it sounded like a shortened version of the Arabic name “Fatimah”.
Furthermore, the label on the bottle features a bearded man wearing what appears to be a skullcap.
Winepak had previously issued a statement on its social media explaining that Timah actually refers to tin, to honour the role the metal played in the country’s development when Malaya was the world’s largest tin producer.
It also pointed out that the man depicted on the bottle was Captain Tristram Charles Sawyer Speedy, who introduced whiskey culture back then.
The meeting was attended by Communication and Multimedia Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa, Minister in the Prime Minister Department (Religious Issue) Senator Idris Ahmad, National Unity Minister Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique as well as representatives from Malaysia Islamic Development Department (Jakim), Home Ministry and International Trade and Industries Ministry. — DayakDaily
