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No compromise on halal
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@ Halal | September-October. 2025
CONTENTS
@ Halal says...
No compromise on halal
MALAYSIA has made it clear that its halal certification standards will not be compromised despite ongoing trade negotiations with the United States( US).
Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry( MITI) Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz emphasised that any facilitation agreed with Washington only concerns streamlining processes and not lowering standards.
Tengku Zafrul assured that all imported products must still comply fully with Malaysia’ s halal requirements in line with the Shariah principle, and he stressed that protecting Muslim consumers remains the government’ s top priority.
Recent speculation suggested that Malaysia might automatically recognise US halal certificates, a claim the minister dismissed as baseless.
He explained that Malaysia will only accept meat and poultry imports certified by bodies already recognised by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia( JAKIM).
Monitoring and verification will continue under JAKIM’ s strict framework, ensuring that quality, religious, and legal requirements remain intact.
As part of the trade talks, both countries also agreed to adopt a regionalisation approach to disease control, allowing imports of poultry from US regions certified as disease-free rather than requiring the whole country to be free from such risks.
This move is expected to improve efficiency without compromising consumer safety.
Beyond food imports, Malaysia and the United States also discussed cooperation in industrial sectors, including automotive components, pharmaceuticals, and medical devices, all under Malaysia’ s domestic regulatory framework.
Notably, the government affirmed that there will be no relaxation of Bumiputera equity requirements or blanket exemptions for foreign ownership in strategic sectors.
Meanwhile, the Halal Development Corporation( HDC) continues to strengthen Malaysia’ s halal ecosystem. HDC aims to increase the number of halal exporters to 2,443 this year, up from 1,600 in 2024.
With the global halal market surpassing US $ 3 trillion, Malaysia is positioning itself as a leader in providing trusted halal products worldwide.
Tengku Zafrul highlighted that Malaysia’ s stance is firm. Efficiency in trade processes may improve, but halal integrity remains non-negotiable.
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