Former Malaysian Prime Minister presents The Halal Journal Awards to the industry’s top achievers

Former Malaysian Prime Minister, YABhg Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi presented the prestigious The Halal Journal Awards to seven of the industry’s top achievers at a Gala Dinner held to honour and celebrate the success within the global Halal industry.

The Halal Journal Awards, first awarded in 2006 is the Halal industry’s most prestigious and sought after Awards. It is symbol of excellence and distinction and marks milestone achievements within the industry.

“With the continued positive awareness on the Halal industry and with the sustained momentum, I am confident that the Halal industry can move from niche to gaining mass worldwide appeal, as our values are based on integrity, quality and wholesomeness. To make this happen, we need champions, like our winners today who have swam against the tide to placard a brand that is recognized not just by the industry, but by mainstream economies”, said Hajjah Jumaatun Azmi, Founder and Managing Director of KasehDia Sdn Bhd in her speech addressing over 550 guests from across the world.

Special guest speaker at The Halal Journal Awards Gala Night was Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, renowned the world over for his creation of The 99, which are a series of graphic novels and super heroes based on the Islamic archetype.

The Halal Journal Awards 2010 paid tribute to 7 companies and individuals from around the world for their outstanding initiatives in 7 categories. Nominations for The Halal Journal Awards came from all over the world including the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, and many others.

Taking part of the limelight that evening was Malaysia’s own Dato’ Siti Nurhaliza who took home Best Product award for  SimplySiti, a Halal beauty and skincare range using the latest technology in skincare. The products are suitable for all women, particularly in hot and humid climates, and Muslim women in particular as it cuts down the routine of taking off make-up before prayers and putting it back on.

The award for Best Islamic Financial Service or Product went to FORAS International Investment Company, of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. FORAS was established at the initiative of the Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry with partnership of the Islamic Development Bank.  It signed an agreement with the Ministry of Housing in Mali, to finance a housing project amounting to US$500 million, constructing 60,000 residential units for low income people.

The award for Best Community & Environmental Development went to Colgate-Palmolive (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, for their nationwide ‘Bright Smiles, Bright Futures’ and ‘Oral Health Month’ dental programmes. This initiative of oral hygiene and cleanliness is in line with Islamic practices.  Colgate-Palmolive’s products are Halal certified by JAKIM, and together with the Malaysian Dental Association, have worked tirelessly and successfully to promote and raise awareness on 'Zero Cavities’ to over 500,000 children in Malaysia.

In the area of Travel & Hospitality, the award went to Cresentrating Pte Ltd of Singapore, a pioneer in the field of ‘Halal Friendly Travel’, launching the world’s first rating standard for Travel and Tourism facilities and services for Halal friendliness. Crescentrating.com focuses on supporting Muslim travellers’ needs worldwide by providing useful information such as Hotels with Halal eateries, hotel rooms with Qiblah directions, prayer times, a hadith related to travel, amongst other useful tips.

The award for Best Service Provider went to Al-Jazeera English, as an influential global information brand, and as the world's first global English language news channel headquartered in the Middle East. It provides news and current affairs reporting from the developing world back to the West and from the southern to the northern hemisphere. The channel pushes boundaries by giving voice to untold stories, promotes debate, and challenges established perceptions.

This year's Best Innovation award went to ImHalal.com, founded by Iranian-Kuwaiti brothers based in The Netherlands. ImHalal.com has revolutionised the search market for Muslims by coming up with the world's first Islamic orientated search engine that uses a search algorithm to rate the relevancy of websites that is based on the culture, lifestyle and mindset of Muslims. It gives Muslims worldwide the chance to explore the internet without coming across immoral or pornographic content. ImHalal.com has been hailed a success after it attracted more than 3 million visitors in its first month of operation.

Finally, the award that recognises Outstanding Personal Achievement went to Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, a Kuwaiti clinical psychologist and creator of THE 99, the first group of comic superheroes born of an Islamic archetype, as Muslims believe that power is ultimately God and God has 99 key attributes. Recently, Forbes named THE 99 as one of the top 20 trends sweeping the globe and most recently, President Barack Obama praised Dr. Naif and THE 99 as perhaps the most innovative of the thousands of new entrepreneurs viewed by his Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship. THE 99 has grown from a comic book series into a franchise boasting theme parks, a global animation series, co-produced by media giant Endemol, and will be teaming up  with cultural icons Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman.

The Halal Journal Awards 2010 was sponsored by Nestle (Malaysia) Berhad, and was organized by The Halal Journal Awards Secretariat, KasehDia Sdn Bhd.