From www.halaljournal.com
“HDC will be pro-business” - Chairman
By The Halal Journal
Aug 20, 2006, 15:11
The government recently established the Halal Development Corporation (HDC) as a prime mover in making Malaysia as a leading global Halal hub.
The establishment of HDC was announced by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi during the tabling of the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).
Within 9MP, the premier outlined seven roles and responsibilities of HDC including:
• To act as a catalyst in setting up a Halal standard, including the processes of auditing and the issuance of Halal certifications to safeguard Halal integrity,
• To supervise and coordinate the development of local Halal industry amongst all industry players, both the government and private sector,
• Supervise and manage the development of Halal manufacturers as well as Halal related service providers,
• To support the inflow of investment for the local Halal industry,
• To ensure healthy participations of Malaysian companies within the global Halal industry,
• To help develop, promote and market a Malaysian Halal brand, and
• To promote the concept of Halal goods and services from Malaysia to the wider global market.
To help realise this vision, the Malaysian Prime Minister have announced the appointment of Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr. Syed Jalaludin Syed Salim as the Chairman of HDC.
“Thank you for the trust in me to head HDC. I will use whatever that is at my disposal, including experience and knowledge to help realise the vision to make Malaysia a global Halal hub,” he said during a recent interview with Utusan Malaysia at his office in Bank Negara.
Syed Jalaludin also expressed his confidence that the government’s wishes can be achieved if all industry players are fully committed and give utmost cooperation and undivided support to realise this vision.
In line with this, he added that it is imperative for everyone to understand their set of responsibilities and the challenges that exists. This is because, as a leader, the premier have made a commitment that would benefit all Malaysians, so it is now up to whoever that has been selected to carry out the responsibilities diligently and take up the challenge.
Commenting on his new task, Syed Jalaludin reiterates that success cannot be had just like that; it requires precise planning and strategising.
In this regard, he will meet with all the individuals that been selected to steer HDC, including its Chief Executive Office, Datuk Jamal Bidin, to formulate a strategy to make Malaysia a global Halal hub.
In fact, according to Syed Jalaludin, he will scrutinise before hand all guidelines that have been drawn up for HDC to ensure its path and direction leads only to success.
He also pointed out that HDC has been placed under the National Initiative Task Force (NITF) which would also mean that it gets the Prime Minster’s special attention.
That position would also allow HDC to be in a position to clear any arising problems quickly and ensure none of its execution stunted.
“Halal is not just a ritual. It is actually a holistic concept, which should also be accepted by everyone, not just by the Muslims. The concept of Halal is also actually bigger than any of the existing standards out there,” he said.
Syed Jalalludin, who is also a former Vice Chancellor of University Putra Malaysia (UPM) said the holistic nature of Halal also means that concerns for the environmental and animal welfare, which have been under the western scrutiny of late, will also be taken care of.
Therefore, the establishment of HDC would actually open up a wider opportunity for the local Halal industry to penetrate the global market.
With this regard, it is imperative that HDC to be more pro-business to help all players expand and enlarge the existing local Halal industry.
“Malaysia is not actually a new player within the global Halal industry. This industry in moving fast and with HDC in place, the development will be even more accelerated because the government will give all necessary support to build Halal,” he added.
When asked about the challenges and hurdles he expects to confront, Syed Jalaludin said that every problem that might come along should not be viewed as a hurdle but rather as a challenge meant to be tackled positively.
He said this approach should help to speed up efforts in achieving the desired objectives. According to him, among the known challenges is on the micro level, or the concept of Halal itself which involves the teachings of all four madhabs – Shafie, Hambali, Hanafi and Maliki.
Although all four madhabs have its own interpretations or its own concept of Halal, this should be taken as a challenge for Malaysia to spearhead the development of a global Halal standard acceptable for all these madhabs.
Other challenges would also naturally involve the entire supply chain for food beginning from the production stage right up to marketing and promotion.
“Even then, we must be optimistic. If we opt to be a pessimist, nothing will get done,” Syed Jalaludin added.
With regards to the labeling of various Halal standards currently used, he added that HDC would be responsible to find an alternative that can be adopted by all parties which should also be internationally recognised.
He said that one common and internationally recognised Halal label is much needed to convince the global consumers that Halal products produced and marketed are in fact good and clean.
He pointed that the Halal industry is not just for Muslim manufacturers, there are also many non Muslims who have realised the potential that existed within this industry. In Canada for instance, there is a Jewish owned corporation that strives to get all their products Halal certified.
“This means that even the non Muslims are playing a role within this industry. Therefore, our initiative to become a Halal hub comes at the most opportune time and place,” he added.
Syed Jalaludin also explains that the setting up of HDC may not necessarily be a financial burden to the government since a lot of the infrastructures within the local Halal industry are already there.
Therefore, he said, HDC will cooperate with all parties including the private sector in ensuring that it can play a pivotal role expected of it.
“We have to find ways to reduce the cost but still produce the desired maximum result. There is no need for wastage,” he said.
With regards to attracting foreign investments, Syed Jalaludin said that he will also strive to find more foreign investment to expand the local Halal industry.
For this, HDC will work with foreign partners including from Europe and America within selected fields, as well as creating a truly conducive business environment for all to operate in.
Despite all this however, he admitted that it is still early days for him to outline the exact roles and functions that HDC will play, including to ensure Bumiputera entrepreneurs are not left out within the Halal sector.
“Let’s all wait and see what the terms of reference and guidelines that is already in place, before we can even begin to detail out the exact roles and functions of HDC to achieve its objectives in making Malaysia a global Halal hub,” he added.
© Copyright 2006 by halaljournal.com