10
@Halal | april-may. 2019
Cover story
Along
the route
to halal Malaysia
Malaysia’s halal trade continues on with JAKIM’s efforts
to make certification and trading more efficient and
empowering, writes Maria Azman
T
he Department of Islamic
Development, or better known
as JAKIM, has been constantly
improving the growth of the
local halal sector to secure
Malaysia as the leader of
the global halal trade. New and improved
measures are always being deviced and
developed to ensure the ideal model of halal
certification is produced, and to further the
halal industry of Malaysia.
Initially, the halal sector was managed
by one unit under JAKIM, called the Halal
Hub Section. However, in the effort to
ensure better focus in establishing the halal
industry in Malaysia as a whole, the Halal
Hub was separated into two divisions.
The two divisions are Halal Management
Department under the direction of Ustaz
Bukhari Md Akhir, which focuses on the
JAKIM’s halal certification operation. The
other is the Malaysia Halal Council (MHC)
secretariat, whose responsibility is to tackle
the keystone and to cater foreign relations
covering both bilateral and multilateral
trade.
Besides that, MHC also lends a hand in
coming up with new approaches to tackle
halal issues alongside Halal Management
Department as a way to avoid working in
a silo. YBhg. Dato’ Dr Sirajuddin Suhaimee
has been elected as the director for MHC.
Malaysia Halal Council (MHC)
and Halal Professional Board
The whole halal certification process in
Malaysia has had the unfortunate precedent
of being described as ‘difficult’, ‘expensive’
and ‘slow’ by applicants. Although it might
seem that way a long time ago, MHC has
been improving and made the process a lot
more efficient nowadays.
MHC has come out with several initia-
tives administrated by JAKIM to tackle the
above issue, such as the initiation of Halal
Professional Board (HPB) in order to assist
the applicants. Under the wing of HPB, two
modules have been developed; Halal Execu-
tive and Internal Halal Audit.
The objectives behind the establishment
of the modules, other than as a helping tool
for halal certification applicants, include
empowering the personnel in the industry
and to maintain the integrity of the halal
status itself.
‘Halal Built-In’ to assure
Halalan Toyyiban
YBhg. Dato’
Dr Sirajuddin Suhaimee,
director of MHM.
Through these modules, MHC has initiated
the concept of Halal Built-In. Halal Built-In
brings forward the idea of halal programme
in the industry whereas the conformity of
products’ halal status are being validated by
the authority while the assurance practice
are done by the companies itself.
The assurance activities by the industry
are performed internally via the establish-