Tuesday June 30, 2009
Halal certs and hotels
WE wish to refer to the recent letter by CAP president S.M. Mohamed Idris on the subject of halal certification. We wish to clarify misconceptions on the issue of halal certificates for hotels.
Firstly, we often see headlines such as “Only 19 hotels have halal certificates” or “Make it mandatory for hotels” when there is no halal certification for hotels or even restaurants at hotels.
It is for the hotel kitchens which apply for the certification with Jakim previously and now the Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC), when catering halal food for guests at a particular restaurant or F&B outlet in the hotel.
The Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners (Maho), the Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) and the Malaysia Budget Hotels Association (MBHA) have made great efforts to encourage member hotels to apply for halal certification for hotel kitchens to provide halal food to guests at designated restaurants.
The hotel sector supports halal certification exercise and requirements as shotels will be able to expand and enjoy bigger business patronage from Muslim guests both local and foreign, as well as from the Government.
Halal certification is a prerequisite by the Treasury (Ministry of Finance) for hotels when applying for e-perolehan in order to enjoy government patronage.
Secondly, blame is often put on hotels for not applying for halal certificate when the main problem is that many applications are delayed or being held up, some for more than a year.
Many cases of delay are due to petty and less important reasons or procedures and some of the procedures and requirements are so cumbersome and troublesome that some hotels eventually give up applying for the certificate.
The halal certification issue was brought up to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Ministry of Tourism.
Thirdly, HDC should resolve their household administrative issues on processing applications and procedures, especially when involving state religious authorities so that they can facilitate and not complicate the halal certification application not only for hotel kitchens but others as well.
Finally, why only halal certificate for hotels? Why not for all food outlets and premises too?
It is not fair to only pinpoint the hotel sector when there are about 2,200 hotels of various categories and ratings (only 63% are currently rated) in operation, and many are without F&B outlets or having outlets which do not require halal certification depending on their clientele.
There are many restaurants, stalls and eateries not having halal certificates and thousands of Muslims patronise them daily without questioning whether these premises have halal certificate or not.
Hotel owners and operators are sensitive to issues that concern Malaysian and foreign customers especially for halal food. Hotels always take great efforts to meet customers’ requirements and demands in almost every need as the hotel sector is a key player and contributor to the tourism industry, contributing the second highest revenue to the economy.
SHAHARUDDIN M SAAID,
Executive Director,
Malaysian Association of Hotel Owners.
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