July-August . 2022 | @ Halal
Industry
05
New HDC Halmas Park standard
HALAL Development Corporation Berhad ( HDC ) had aimed to launch its new HDC Halmas Park standard last April .
When asked about the update on the standard , HDC CEO Hairol Ariffein Sahari said the corporation received excellent remarks during its final stakeholders ’ engagement involving local and international parties . One of the comments suggested that HDC make the new
HDC Halmas Park standard a national standard .
“ After that engagement , I asked my team to engage the Department of Standards Malaysia ( DSM ). They advised us to present the new standard to the National Standard Committee on halal in DSM .
“ The idea here is to uplift the standard to become a national standard . So , we are working on that . InshaAllah , if everything goes well , we will announce the standard before the World Halal Business Conference Circuit in Melbourne , Australia .” trade between Malaysia and Australia .
“ Australia is one of the few countries in the world where we send our halal attache from JAKIM , to Canberra . So , that shows how important the halal agenda is between Malaysia and Australia ,” said Hairol , adding that hosting the conference in Australia will also allow the country to address pertinent halal issues in Malaysia and Australia .
“ Australia is the right choice as far as HDC is concerned to conduct our first World Halal Business Conference Circuit . We will take it from there and then see how it goes and how the responses are .”
HDC ’ s preparation and responses from stakeholders
“ The World Halal Business Conference Circuit preparation has been excellent and busy . As of today , we have already engaged most of our State governments . Three States already expressed their strong interest to participate ,” said Hairol , sharing that HDC ’ s engagement with its partners had been very encouraging .
“ We are engaging our partners from various sizes and business backgrounds . The strongest interests come from our pharmaceutical and nutraceutical producers in Malaysia and those companies involved in halal ingredients production .”
The promotion of the halal industry also comes with auxiliary
services like Islamic banking , takaful and Islamic mortgage . According to Hairol , some banks are also interested in participating in the World Halal Business Conference Circuit , where they can promote their services .
“ As much as we see the halal manufacturing and production have been globalised , the auxiliary services also come together . It is aligned with HDC ’ s long-term plan to promote the greater Islamic economy agenda , which comprises few elements including Islamic finance .”
Potential of local products and talents in Australia
HDC ’ s focus areas in Australia are food and meat-based products , as the country is the key player in these areas . Explaining the potential of Malaysia ’ s halal products in Australia , Hairol shared with @ Halal about one of the participants for the upcoming World Halal Business Conference Circuit .
“ It is a company that produces meat-based halal ingredients or seasonings . The company is looking for exporters of animal fats . So , this is the area where Australia can provide . Australia can export animal fats which are considered waste over there . It ’ s an area
They ’ re also looking at products and partners in cosmetics , personal care and medical devices products . These are the new things in the halal industry in Australia .”
— Hairol Ariffien Sahari
we are working on together - to conduct business matchings between our halal players and our partners .”
Hairol shared that Australian partners viewed Malaysia as one of the good partners in halal and a gateway for their products to enter specific halal markets . He also noted that HDC received plenty of requests from talent development organisations and universities in Australia regarding whether the corporation can assist them in developing halal knowledge in the country .
“ They ’ re also looking at products and partners in cosmetics , personal care and medical devices products . These are the new things in the halal industry in Australia .”
He highlighted that one of HDC ’ s functions was to provide quality employment for Malaysians in the halal industry . Therefore , Malaysia stands an excellent chance to export its talents to Australia by promoting halal in a country where there are still not many halal professionals .
The direction of HDC ’ s international partnership
Hairol shared that HDC ’ ‘ s focus on its international collaboration would always centre on the G2G cooperation . With the mandate given by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry ( MITI ) to the corporation , HDC would leverage the G2G cooperation to connect Malaysia ’ s halal ecosystem and other halal ecosystems available in other parts of the world .
When visiting a country , HDC will conduct the Current State Assessment to look at the maturity level of the country ’ s halal ecosystem . From the data gathered , they will compare what is available in the country and what is available in Malaysia ’ s halal ecosystem .
“ But , we are not going to replicate 100 per cent of what we have because , if we want to build a robust and sustainable halal ecosystem in one particular country , we must understand its strengths .
“ From there , we will turn it into a G2G cooperation where we will outline programs and initiatives that can benefit both countries . But , at the end of the day . It goes back to how halal industry contributes to the socio-economic growth of both countries .”