November-December . 2022 | @ HalalSpecial Edition
COVER STORY
Selangor Halal
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State will provide RM2,000 , and the participant will prepare another RM2,000 for the capital .”
Halal Suri targets women such as housewives and single mothers with monthly incomes of less than RM3,500 to generate additional income . The participants can sell various frozen food from home through this programme . Koperasi Warga Hijrah Selangor Berhad ( Kohijrah ) is the strategic partner of the programme .
“ We provide a freezer to keep the frozen food for food items such as chicken , fish , frozen ‘ kuih ’, etc . They ( participants ) can put the items at their house and promote them online ,” shared Zawawi , saying that the programme also aimed to increase halal food production .
The first series of Halal Suri witnessed 56 participants . As for 2022 , the State aimed to double the figure . Selangor also came up with a halal voucher programme as part of its advocacy programme . Next , the State will organise the Selangor International Halal Convention ( SELHAC ), launched on Dec 29 , 2021 . The first segment of SELHAC was the Selangor ’ s Halal Industry Forum , held the same day with its launching . The other two segments - Halal International Selangor Business Expo and Halal Industry Business Matching were held in March , 2022 .
HALAL CERTIFICATION ENFORCEMENT
Zawawi said many restaurants did not prioritise getting the halal certification , but the State was arranging meetings with the restaurant owners ’ associations to discuss this matter .
“ We ’ re meeting the Malaysian Indian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association ( Presma ) soon . They have more than 4,000 members , operating around 14,000 restaurants nationwide . This is a considerable number , and I believe most of the restaurants are located in Selangor and Klang Valley .
“ The other one is the Malaysian Tomyam Operators Association ( Pertom ). Even though most people will not look for halal certification of the restaurants , we want to make the concept ‘ halal as the way of life ’ to expand further ,” he said .
According to Zawawi , who also holds the State ’ s Consumer Affairs portfolio , there were a few reports regarding fake halal logos . Currently , around 29 JAIS enforcers will administer the activities on the ground . These enforcers will monitor , audit and carry out other related tasks regarding halal certification .
“ We ’ re short-staffed to audit and monitor the 5,200 halal certificate holders in Selangor . But , we carry out the
I believe with the Selangor Smart City and Smart State development , it can facilitate in speeding up the effort to make halal as the way of life .”
inspection periodically . We ’ re thinking of engaging external professional auditors to assist us . There ’ s no issue for multinational companies ( MNCs ) as they have their halal executives , but this is more for the small and medium-sized enterprises ( SMEs ).”
Zawawi added the department also received reports and complaints regarding halal certification issues through social media . The investigation would be based on official reports by consumers .
PERCEPTION ON HALAL CERTIFICATION
Then , he said there was also a public perception that the halal certificates were hard to obtain , and people needed to go through a very rigorous process in getting them . However , he stressed it was just a perception and depended on a case-by-case basis .
He did not deny some cases involved importing ingredients from overseas and requiring the approval of some departments and labs . These procedures might delay the process and increase the cost of getting the halal certificates .
However , he said restaurants operating in premises often had no problem getting halal-certified . The issue became a bit complicated when some small businesses were operating from their own house , unoccupied agriculture land , etc .
“ We have to prioritise customer interests . We have to look at safety and hygiene aspects . All these aspects need to be considered , for the interest of customers and the businesses ,” he added .
He also revealed the State had planned to establish its halal lab by working together with Universiti Selangor ( UNISEL ). The State was still exploring this idea although the cost would be high .
TAKING THE RISKS
Zawawi said he and his team went to the United Kingdom in February to meet some industry players in the pharmaceutical , cosmetic and F & B sectors .
“ We contacted some Malaysian restaurants and hotels to see the potential of Malaysian products to be promoted there . We also invited them to invest in Selangor .
“ Even though the Covid-19 cases were on the rise , we had no choice . We needed to manage the risk to move forward ,” he said .
He revealed that the State had plans to join some expo and conferences overseas and go to countries with a vast halal market like China and South Africa .
“ We ’ re identifying countries that have halal awareness , and we will try to penetrate the market .” – Special Edition