Eid Al-Adha: Muslims in the UK pay up to RM2,000 per meat portion

SHAH ALAM - Muslims living in London, United Kingdom (UK), have to pay more than RM2,000 for one part of a cow to perform "korban" (sacrificial rites) in the country.

A Malaysian who has lived in London for 33 years, Alias Siek, 55, said it costs around RM1,600 for a sheep.

He said that although the price is considered high, the reality is that it only costs about 20 per cent of the minimum wage of the residents there.

"When compared to the price of the sacrifice in Malaysia, which is around RM800 for a part, it is equivalent to more than 50 percent of the minimum wage in Malaysia, which is RM1,500 a month.

"The real value of the price of sacrifices in the UK is much lower," he told Sinar Harian on Friday.

Comparing the celebrations in the two countries, Alias said the Eid celebration in Malaysia is more lively because many people would come together for the slaughter and also distribute the sacrificial meat.

He explained that in the UK, it can only be done in slaughterhouses or farms and cannot be carried out in public places. He added that only individuals with a licence to slaughter animals are allowed to perform sacrifices in the country.

"Here (in the UK), there is no "gotong royong" like in Malaysia. In London, local people will often do it at the mosque. The mosque will arrange, but animals are not slaughtered in the mosque. If you want to see it, you have to go to the slaughterhouse.

"If they want to have fun, they just go to a halal butcher shop. The shop will arrange a sacrifice, and the shop will order cows at the slaughterhouse, and if people want to perform sacrifices,they will just distribute the meat.

"Talk about longing; of course, I miss the environment in Malaysia. If at the "kampung", urban area, or anywhere they slaughter, lay the meat, "gotong royong". There is no such environment near here," he said.

According to Alias, most of those who perform sacrifices will give the sacrificial meat to students because it is difficult to find people in need in London.

"If the residents here are jobless or homeless, the government will take care of them. So usually the sacrificial meat will be distributed to the students," he said.