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Last Updated: Sep 25th, 2006 - 11:36:04 |
Jakim To Be Only Issuer Of Halal Certificate and Logo
KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 -- The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) will be made the sole issuer of the "halal" certification and logo in the country, Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Mohd Shafie Apdal said Thursday.
The Trade Descriptions Act 1972 will be amended in the Dewan Rakyat in September to enable Jakim to assume that role, he added.
Companies will not be allowed to issue the "halal" certification once the amendment has been gazetted, he told reporters after launching the Companies Commission of Malaysia 2005 annual report and E-Info, here.
A newspaper yesterday reported the case of a company that had breached the act by issuing the "halal" logo illegally since 2000.
Shafie said his ministry was refining the bill with the assistance of the Attorney General's Chambers, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry.
On imported "halal" products, he said Jakim has enlisted the help of several international "halal" accreditation agencies recognised by the government in the matter of the logo.
Earlier, in his speech, he said he was confident the commission would be able to make 90 per cent of the companies to comply with the code of corporate governance by 2010 from the 71 per cent last year, an increase of seven per cent from 2004.
On E-Info, he said the service enabled the business community within and outside the country to access online information on companies and local business.
He also said that purchase of company and business information through the website, www.ssm.com.my, would promote growth of companies and facilitate procurement of the information among the people.
Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Abdullah Md Zin denied allegations by traders that Jakim took a long time to approve applications for the issue of the "halal" logo.
"The process takes only a month unless the forms submitted are incomplete or the officers are not happy after inspecting the premises," he told reporters after handing out certificates to students of the Baitulmal Skills Institute, here.
Abdullah denied that the applications for the "halal" logo faced too much red tape, thus forcing traders to get the certification from the private sector.
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