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september-october. 2019 | @Halal
Bumiputera products
not automatically halal
Deputy Minister in
the Prime Minister’s
Department Fuziah Salleh
rebuts notion local Muslim
products are halal by
default
B
umiputera products do not
necessarily become halal products
automatically, said Deputy Minister
in the Prime Minister’s Department Fuziah
Salleh.
“When you are a Bumiputera industry
player, it does not make your product auto-
matically halal, that’s not the mindset that
we are bringing. What we are saying is the
principle of ‘Halalan Toyyiban’. Some Malay
Bumiputera do not adhere to the principles
of ‘Halalan Toyyiban’. You go to the kitchen,
it may not be clean. So JAKIM have to ensure
this principles are followed. It’s about educat-
ing people about the aspects of the concept,”
she told a press conference.
‘Halalan Toyyiban’ can be defined as
permissible for consumption with relation
to Shariah law as well as safe and hygienic.
Fuziah said Muslim entrepreneurs who
wanted to be an industry player and global
leaders needed to break away from the
mindset that takes for granted the aspect of
‘Halalan Toyyiban’.
Meanwhile, she said based on the potential
of global Islamic economy, a lot of the indus-
try players around the world were interested
in producing halal products for the purpose
of exports.
“Therefore, halal industry players must
obtain the halal certification from the cred-
ible halal certification bodies to convince
customers and they have to ensure the logo
or certificates are accepted by the authorities
at the importing countries.
“As of Feb 13, JAKIM has recognised 78
Foreign Halal Certification Body from 45
countries worldwide and this figure is
expected to grow in the future. Currently, we
have 40 more international halal bodies to be
recognised by JAKIM,” she said.
On other developments, Fuziah said the
proposal for the Malaysian Halal Council
Act, aimed at coordinating all halal agencies
under JAKIM to ensure the standard of halal
certification is at its best, had been drafted
and would be tabled at the Parliament.
MATRADE eyes higher
halal exports to Japan
Malaysia’s halal export to Japan is poised
to increase this year against RM2.5 billion
recorded last year, on the back of the growing
halal tourism and preparation ahead of Tokyo
Olympic 2020.
Malaysia External Trade Development Cor-
poration (MATRADE) Chief Executive Officer
Datuk Wan Latif Wan Musa said the Digital
Trade Halal Value Chain for Tokyo Olympics
2020 initiative launched today would also
help to spur the halal export figures.
The initiative aims to promote Malaysia’s
exports to Japan by leveraging on the poten-
tial of high demand for halal products and
services from approximately eight million
Muslim expected to visit Japan for Tokyo
Olympics 2020.
“Given Malaysia’s close relationship with
Japan and strong credibility of Malaysian
halal products and services due to Islamic
Development Malaysia Department’s (JAKIM)
halal certification, we are confident Malaysia
has a stronger position to become the main
provider for halal products and services
during Tokyo Olympic 2020,” he told press
conference after the launch of the initiative
recently.
Ministry of International Trade and Indus-
try Secretary-General Datuk Lokman Hakim
Ali officiated the launch.
Elaborating further, Wan Latif said Japan
had indicated its interest to source for halal
products and services to accommodate
Malaysia launches
Muslim-friendly hotel recognition
Malaysia has introduced the “Muslim-Friendly Hotel
Recognition” initiative, a form of accreditation which
recognises syariah compliant accommodation for tourists.
Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Mohamaddin
Ketapi said the accreditation, implemented by the Islamic
Tourist Centre (ITC) is the first of its kind in the world issued by a
government agency.
“We are the first country in the world to have a government-
backed initiative. Such standards or accreditation currently
out in the market are all released by travel entities. The
implementation of the Muslim Friendly Hotel Recognition is an
important initiative to empower the tourism industry, especially
the Islamic tourism segment to begin developing the industry
towards its next phase,” Mohamaddin stated.
“This recognition will assist those involved in utilising the
Muslim Friendly Hotel Recognition to set the standards for
others to follow,” he added during his speech at the launch of
the initiative held during the Muslim Friendly Tourism Forum.
Mohamaddin said Malaysia acknowledges the potential of
the Islamic tourism sector as travellers from Muslim countries,
especially the Middle East, are the biggest spenders in
Malaysia’s tourism industry.
“The Islamic tourism sector is a high potential market
segment. Malaysia has been at the pole position for nine
consecutive years in the Global Muslim Traveler Index which
studies the patterns and trends of Islamic Tourism globally.”
Focusing on halal and
Islamic finance industries
Malaysia intends to keep its focus on the halal and Islamic
finance industries in its efforts to enhance trade relations with
Arab countries, says President of the Arab-Malaysia Chamber
of Commerce (AMCC), Datuk Dr Hafsah Hashim.
This would be important if Malaysia plans to achieve its aim of
stronger trade links with the Arab countries, she said.
Through the AMCC, Malaysia expects to cooperate with
all the 16 embassies of the Arab countries here to push for
stronger businesses between Malaysian companies and the
Arab countries, she said.
The halal business and Islamic finance are expected to
provide the best opportunities for Malaysian businessmen and
companies to explore and expand their businesses in the Arab
countries.
Dr Hafsah said that if Malaysia is able to cooperate with the
16 countries and get an agreement for the production of not
only halal food products but also other halal products such as
medicines, pharmaceutical products, it will be able to join the 16
countries and be among the Islamic countries with the capacity
to produce goods that can be used by Muslim consumers all
over the world. Speaking to Bernama in an interview at her
office here recently, she said Malaysia had already started
taking several initiatives reflective of its earnestness to develop
the halal industry.
“For example, Serunai Commerce Malaysia has been
cooperating with 78 halal certification centres in 45 Islamic
countries including the 16 Arab countries.
“Through this cooperation, the company has been able to
develop an application called ‘verify halal’ to enable consumers
to check on the halal status of a product even when they are
overseas,” she said.
9 out of 10 SMEs do not
have halal certification
Muslim tourists and athletes during the
major sporting event.
“There is a potential of more than 140 mil-
lion meals required at the Olympic Athlete
Village and approximately 720 million halal
meals to be prepared during the event,“ he
said.
He added the initiative would enhance key
ecosystem areas such as logistics, data analyt-
ics, retail, certification, food distributions as
well as tourism.
The initiative also saw the establishment
of Malaysia Halal Export and Promotion Com-
mittee comprising representatives from the
public and private sectors.
The MATRADE-led committee is tasked to
develop a strategic roadmap to address both
gaps and opportunities for Malaysian export-
ers to supply halal products and services for
Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Nearly 90 percent of Malaysia’s Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs) do not possess halal certificates.
Deputy Entrepreneur Development Minister Datuk Dr Mohd
Hatta Md Ramli said that, as of last year, only 8,120 companies,
including SMEs, had received halal certifications.
He said one of the reasons was the fact that most
entrepreneurs were running their businesses in a traditional
manner, and had the perception that they did not need to obtain
halal certification.
“SME entrepreneurs need to look beyond the local market.
Halal certification serves as a boost for local entrepreneurs’
products to compete in the global market. In line with the
government’s goal of achieving RM55 billion in cooperative
revenue by 2020, the halal market should be explored by
cooperatives and entrepreneurs to increase their incomes,” he
said.
He also said that the global market focused on the halal
industry and local entrepreneurs should use the opportunity
to introduce their products internationally to generate higher
revenue.
He said Malaysia had become a reference to other countries
in terms of halal standards and certification as the system used
in the country complied with international guidelines in the
context of shariah policy, purity and security.