A SINGLE cabinet committee will coordinate empowerment of Malaysia’s halal certification and make the halal industry more competitive, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said today.

He said the committee will be led by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and will be responsible for coordinating the synergy among all parties involved to fully leverage the country’s halal ecosystem.

“We do get high scores for halal certification, but I want it to be further elevated, not only as an exemplary model for other countries but also in terms of efficiency, quality research and ability to give prompt approvals,” he said at the opening the Global Halal Summit (GHaS) 2023 in Kuala Lumpur.

“I have met with several world leaders – from China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia – and discussed the halal industry, focusing on Malaysia, so it will be a great loss if we don’t give it special attention.”

Anwar, who is also finance minister, said given the global halal market is expected to reach US$2.4 trillion (RM11.2 trillion) by next year, he had asked Zahid and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) to focus on strengthening certification and trade promotion aspects to make Malaysia a market leader.

He said the synergy between halal certification and trade promotion is important.

He said all local halal industry players and agencies must stop working in silos.

He said the halal issue is related to not only food and beverages but also other products such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, consumer goods, logistics services and medical devices, where the “halal and clean” assessment granted can attract interest from non-Muslim countries.

“So all of this needs to be coordinated with HDC (Halal Development Corporation Bhd) and Matrade (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation) because there is specialisation and synergy with the local industry,” he said.

“Or else, we will only introduce and issue halal certificates, but not develop our halal industry.” – Bernama, September 12, 2023.