S’pore Olympic Council Denies Allegations That Muslim Athletes Were Fed Pork At SEA Games

Lack of food and dishes that were served cold were among some of the complaints the SEA Games athletes had at the hotels they stayed at.

But one particular report definitely raised some eyebrows. An article by South China Morning Post (SCMP), alleges that Singapore’s Muslim athletes were served pork. It also alleges that chef de mission Juliana Seow had spoken to the Philippine media.

The Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) has clarified that both of these allegations are in fact untrue.

S’pore Olympic Council Denies Allegations That Muslim Athletes Were Fed Pork At SEA Games

A spokesperson from SNOC explains that “Juliana did not speak with the Philippine media nor were our Muslim athletes served pork.”

In addition, they say that “the mentions in SCMP article related to these two allegations are not true.”

They have since reached out to SCMP to ask them to make amendments to the article.

Phew, it’s a relief that this means that the Muslim athletes were not served pork after all.

If they were, that would’ve been very disturbing and disrespectful to their religious beliefs and practices.

So What Exactly Did The Article Say

The article in question claimed that Ms Seow told Philippine media that they had no choice but to order food from outside for the Muslim athletes.

The food that was ordered include “kikiam” which is a pork roll.

The SCMP article falsely stated that, “Ramadan Aguan, information officer with the National Commission for Filipino Muslims (NCFM), said games organisers had ignored reminders from the body to serve halal food, which means no pork and meat that is slaughtered according to Islamic rituals.”

So how are the athletes going to bounce back from this incident or lack of one?

Well, Ms Seow clarifies that “What’s more important is to work with the organisers so that our athletes and officials can compete in a conducive environment.”

“We appreciate the efforts and hospitality of the Philippine organisers and volunteers in taking care of us and doing their best as hosts, and look forward to an exciting 2019 SEA Games.”

Well, I’m glad that that’s been settled.