COMMENT | When the government wants to bury bad news, it will do its best to distract us from the real issues. This is the reason why the halal certification issue became headline-grabbing news.

The ruse worked because few people failed to connect the dots and failed to express curiosity as to why the nation was suddenly gripped with halal fever.

The halal certification public spat was a battle from which there could be no real winners.

It was a non-issue because it aimed to distract us from the real news of successive administrations, especially the Welfare Department, the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, the Health Ministry and the Religious Affairs Department, which over the years, have abrogated their responsibilities, and failed in their duty of care towards our children.

The authorities knew that the Global Ikhwan Service and Business Holding (GISBH) scandal would be reported, as police investigations had been ongoing for six months. They had unearthed a serial child abuse scandal of epic proportions. It could not be easily buried.