KUANTAN: The approval period for halal certificate applications and renewals has been shortened to 15 working days from 23 days previously, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said this improvement is part of ongoing efforts to streamline and enhance the halal certification process to boost the country’s halal industry.
"In the past, it took nine months, then we reduced it to six months, later to three months. From three months, I requested 23 days, and we achieved that. Now, we’ve reduced it to 15 days.
"This is already in effect, and so far, we are satisfied with the progress. This is due to collaboration between Jakim (Department of Islamic Development Malaysia) and various agencies such as HDC (Halal Development Corporation Bhd), Matrade (Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation) and the Halal Academy,” he said.
He said this at a press conference after launching the Halal On Track (HOT) Programme @ Pahang here on Saturday (Oct 19).
Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na'im Mokhtar and Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail.
Ahmad Zahid said the addition of 100 halal auditors at JAKIM, announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the presentation of Budget 2025 yesterday, will help expedite and further streamline the halal certification process to meet both domestic and international demand.
He said Jakim is collaborating with five higher education institutions (IPTs) to train halal auditors, who will also serve as officers to ensure halal standards and will be placed in companies that already have halal certification to ensure they comply with the set standards.
"This will indirectly create opportunities for those originally from Maahad Tahfiz, diploma holders, or graduates from several higher learning institutions who have taken this course to work in these companies, especially those exporting products abroad to ensure that we do not compromise on the 'halalan tayyiban' standards set by Jakim,” said Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Malaysian Halal Council chairman.
Meanwhile, in his speech, he stressed that boosting the country’s halal industry cannot be done in isolation but must involve collective efforts to create a "game changer," particularly in the aspect of halal certification.
"We need to listen to all feedback and improve the certification process. Through halal workshops, several key initiatives have been proposed to speed up approval processes and reduce the failure rate of applications,” he added.
Highlighting that these efforts can be supported through the Halal On Track programme introduced in August last year, he said the programme demonstrates the unity government’s commitment to driving the growth of the country’s halal industry.
He said the programme not only serves as a platform to provide various information but also opens up business opportunities for halal certificate holders, offering guidance and training to meet increasingly complex certification requirements.
He hoped that Halal On Track would strengthen the halal value chain, both domestically and internationally, by producing more entrepreneurs capable of leading the global halal market.
"Domestically, the data clearly shows an increase in halal certification applications each year. In 2023, we received 15,605 applications, up from 14,977 the previous year.
"As of September 2024, we have received 14,707 applications, and I believe this number will surpass 16,000, especially with efforts like the implementation of HOT,” he said. - Bernama
