World halal certification scheme sought
Saturday, September 15, 2007
SEVERAL multinational companies have asked the Halal Industry Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (HDC) to take the lead in establishing an international halal certification scheme to pave the way for worldwide acceptance of halal products.
At dialogues with HDC, they said Malaysia should take the lead in the area of certification, "to basically provide the certification process for all the companies involved in the industry, especially in Thailand and Indonesia," HDC Managing Director and Chief Executive Datuk Jamil Bidin said.
"At the moment, many countries do not have halal certification, while Malaysia is the only country where certification is done by a government body, so that itself gives a lot of credibility to our certification.
"This is one area which HDC feels is very important in efforts to position Malaysia as regional halal hub. Many countries in the world are looking at Malaysia as a leader in the halal industry," he said.
He said certification is crucial for halal producers, especially for multinationals which are also major producers of halal products, and said HDC had told the government of its interest in undertaking this.
It is awaiting a government response, he added.
At present, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia is responsible for issuing the halal certification in the domestic market.
Moving in that direction, HDC is finalising the first module under its proposed halal hub management system, in collaboration with Microsoft Corporation.
"We have been working hard and closely with Microsoft to provide the information, communication and technology infrastructure for the halal industry and Microsoft is finalising the IT platform for the whole halal hub management system," Jamil said. "The first module, which is e-certification and e-training, will be rolled out in November."
The e-certification will reduce the processing time of applications for halal certification to four to six weeks from the current six to seven months and will also serve as the springboard for the country to take the lead in international halal certification.
"For the MNCs (multinational companies), the processing time is very important because they have to meet delivery time as this will affect their bottom line. If they are delayed in the area of certification, they cannot deliver their products on time and this could affect their business," Jamil said.
The module is the first of six under the proposed halal hub management system, which will be rolled out in phases over three to five years.
"The system is also aimed at streamlining the operations of halal parks in the country, creating some sort of exclusive halal industry super highway, whereby the transfer and sharing of information of these units is well organised and coordinated," Jamil said.
"The system should be accessible not only domestically but also to people outside Malaysia who want to know about the activities, incentives or business environment at the halal parks. In a way, we are also promoting these halal parks."
At the moment, there are 22 halal parks nationwide which are both private and government initiatives, but he said some of them just have the physical infrastructure and are not well managed.
Bernama
At dialogues with HDC, they said Malaysia should take the lead in the area of certification, "to basically provide the certification process for all the companies involved in the industry, especially in Thailand and Indonesia," HDC Managing Director and Chief Executive Datuk Jamil Bidin said.
"At the moment, many countries do not have halal certification, while Malaysia is the only country where certification is done by a government body, so that itself gives a lot of credibility to our certification.
"This is one area which HDC feels is very important in efforts to position Malaysia as regional halal hub. Many countries in the world are looking at Malaysia as a leader in the halal industry," he said.
He said certification is crucial for halal producers, especially for multinationals which are also major producers of halal products, and said HDC had told the government of its interest in undertaking this.
It is awaiting a government response, he added.
At present, the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia is responsible for issuing the halal certification in the domestic market.
Moving in that direction, HDC is finalising the first module under its proposed halal hub management system, in collaboration with Microsoft Corporation.
"We have been working hard and closely with Microsoft to provide the information, communication and technology infrastructure for the halal industry and Microsoft is finalising the IT platform for the whole halal hub management system," Jamil said. "The first module, which is e-certification and e-training, will be rolled out in November."
The e-certification will reduce the processing time of applications for halal certification to four to six weeks from the current six to seven months and will also serve as the springboard for the country to take the lead in international halal certification.
"For the MNCs (multinational companies), the processing time is very important because they have to meet delivery time as this will affect their bottom line. If they are delayed in the area of certification, they cannot deliver their products on time and this could affect their business," Jamil said.
The module is the first of six under the proposed halal hub management system, which will be rolled out in phases over three to five years.
"The system is also aimed at streamlining the operations of halal parks in the country, creating some sort of exclusive halal industry super highway, whereby the transfer and sharing of information of these units is well organised and coordinated," Jamil said.
"The system should be accessible not only domestically but also to people outside Malaysia who want to know about the activities, incentives or business environment at the halal parks. In a way, we are also promoting these halal parks."
At the moment, there are 22 halal parks nationwide which are both private and government initiatives, but he said some of them just have the physical infrastructure and are not well managed.
Bernama
Business Besides Oil
