COMMENT | Malaysia creates a whiskey called Timah that wins overseas awards. Do we celebrate it? Sadly, some people want to tear it down.

PAS Syura Ulama Council member Mahfodz Mohamed complained that the name was “confusing” to Muslims because it sounds like Fatimah, the name of Prophet Muhammad’s daughter.

No, replied the whiskey company, the brand name Timah is the Malay word for tin. Yes, the metal over which Chinese migrants slaved in mines and died from malaria to build this country's wealth and towns like Ipoh, Seremban, Taiping and indeed, Kuala Lumpur itself. A history that’s sadly being slowly erased from our school history books.

Language fascism?

These outbursts are deeply troubling for many reasons. One suspects the problem begins with the use of the Malay language to describe something non-halal.

What if I opened a place called...