Other Editorials
The Halal way to free trade
By New Straits Times
May 11, 2006, 12:12

The Halal way to free trade
11 May 2006


IN the years since the Sept 11 terror attacks, the halal market has grown from a tributary concern of the devout to the mainstream of the multitudes.

Politics has combined with demographics to manufacture an economic demand of global proportions while supply, still highly localised and inward-looking, struggles to catch up.

It was only last year that the Organisation of the Islamic Conference got round to formally including trade in its stock menu of grievances. Even Malaysia, first off the blocks in the development of products and services for its Muslim majority, was slow to capitalise on the international potential of its domestic commerce.

The global halal industry, if it can be called one, is fast getting up to speed at the World Halal Forum and Malaysia International Halal Showcase, a convention and trade show of religious zeal dressed in the smart suits of regulators and entrepreneurs.

Indeed, it is about time they got down to business. The two are the essential ingredients for the realisation of what has been estimated to be a US$580 billion (RM2.1 trillion) annual market.

Like any other commercial activity seeking to break loose of its niche appeal, the halal sector has first to agree on a uniform regulatory regime and then go on to create as free a market as possible for the production and consumption of its goods.

In neither of those areas is the halal business starting from scratch. Malaysia has been a forerunner in setting standards, the institutional framework of which has allowed the country to act as a "clearing house" for the halal trade.

Many firms here import raw materials, obtain the required certification and export the finished product to countries that don’t have the infrastructure. Beefing up this entrepot role is a primary objective of the Halal Development Corporation, a high-level umbrella body set up to nurture a world-wide Islamic market worthy of the name.

The HDC will need to do its utmost to prevent that nascent market from being undermined by disparate and competing rules. At the same time, it has to fashion a level playing field — one that is welcoming of all comers, whether Muslim or non-Muslim.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s vision of the halal trade goes beyond its putative monetary value. Islam enjoins businessmen to profit from the highest ethical practices, stipulating a concept of free and fair trade that is gaining adherents in the West, albeit in different guises.

Opened to the investment and participation of non-Muslims, the term "halal" could set a new paradigm in a world beset by the depredations of the strong upon the weak.

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