COMMENT | The latest uproar about the halal certificate highlights all that is wrong with the amateur race-religion policy-making environment.

The situation should trouble every citizen and especially the current government – regardless of race or creed - as the rights of citizens are being trampled on and the nation is being led down a very dangerous path.

Muslims in the country do not need more heavy-handed theocracy and zealotry. Muslim SMEs in the food sector should not be subjected to increased religious oversight, which brings with it an additional financial burden.

The country needs to be spared the risk of the almost inevitable incompetence often associated with the administration of schemes involving large sums of money. Importantly, do the Muslims in a Muslim-majority country really need to be nannied about which eateries they can patronise?

What the Muslims of the country need is...