Cover Story
Malaysian Sponsors Pledge Commitment Towards WHF 2007
By Press Release
Mar 20, 2007, 17:34

With barely six weeks more to go before the staging of World Halal Forum 2007, around 21 Malaysian sponsors have pledged their earnest commitment and strong participation towards the development and growth of the country’s Halal Agenda.

At a dedicated networking session for sponsors and attended by over 170 guests representing corporations, business associations and government agencies, Encik Khairy Jamalludin, the Chairman for the WHF 2007 Committee explained, “We deeply appreciate the enthusiastic support and collaboration of all our sponsors to make the World Halal Forum 2007 an even greater success than last year. In fact, WHF’s sponsors comprise a good representation of the Halal Industry, not just farm to fork, but from farm to fork to finance!

“Malaysia’s Halal agenda is powerful, broad, all-encompassing and full of tremendous potential for good, meaningful intentions - to bring real benefits, more jobs, increased trade, development of human capital and nurturing skills for all Malaysians.

“As this agenda continues to grow in importance for the Malaysian Government, it is obvious how its growth and development stands to have so many positive effects for our country. Under the capable, guiding management of the Halal Industry Development Corporation (HDC), the Halal agenda will reach out to embrace and mobilise so many sectors of our community and to take advantage of the many positive attributes it has to offer.

“Building Malaysia’s Halal capacity will have a strong, positive impact on our agricultural, manufacturing, logistics and trade sectors. It will strengthen the players, big and small, within the F&B sector, for producers and traders as well as the restaurant and hospitality sectors and to prepare for global opportunities.

“Leveraging on Malaysia’s Halal expertise will strengthen our standards and our certification capabilities. It will enable Malaysia to offer world-class training, research and academic excellence in Halal-related matters, both for industrial applications as well as for academic achievement,” elaborated Encik Khairy.

Malaysia aims to become the global reference point for all the varied issues related to the Halal market. Given Malaysia’s strong history of racial harmony and multi-cultural collaboration, this mission to profile the country’s contribution in this industry is achievable.

CIMB Islamic Bank Bhd (CIMB Islamic) has pledged its support as the Platinum Sponsor for WHF 2007. With Malaysia being acknowledged as an emerging global leader in Islamic Finance, this partnership of CIMB Islamic with WHF 2007 underlines the common attributes and shared values of these two Shariah-compliant industries.

“The collaboration and convergence of these two powerful market forces can strengthen Malaysia’s global role in both Islamic Finance and the Halal market. It is a wonderful case of an Islamic synergy that brings benefit to all,” added Khairy.

Some 21 Malaysian companies including the Ministry of Tourism have come forward to support the second forum, amongst them Gold sponsors Northport Malaysia Berhad, Westports Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Allanasons Ltd; Silver sponsors KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd, Nestle (Malaysia) Bhd, Prima Agri-Products Sdn Bhd, MISC Integrated Logistics Sdn Bhd and LimKokWing University College of Creative Technology.

Others include CCM Bhd, Dindings Poultry Processing Sdn Bhd, Intertek Group, SICPA Product Security Sdn Bhd, Aron Sdn Bhd, Darabif Meat Company Sdn Bhd, Lembaga Tabung Haji, Microlink Solutions Bhd, Royal Selangor and Islamic Development Bank Bhd.

This year’s WHF 2007 sees HDC playing an important role as its Host, entering the scene at an opportune time as it stands to gather Halal industry leaders from all over the world to converge at one common meeting place, being Kuala Lumpur.

In his message to the sponsors, Tan Sri Dr Syed Jalaludin Syed Salim, HDC’s chairman, noted that the Forum was an excellent opportunity to share ideas, raise concerns and suggest opportunities that can help chart the future course of the development and growth of the Halal Industry.

He said, “The forum brings many benefits to Malaysia. Playing host to the best and brightest decision-makers in various industries immediately positions the country at the very core of this unfolding market. It confirms Malaysia’s leadership role as developers of the Halal market expertise in such matters as standards, certification, research and market intelligence.

“With the participation of some of the world’s largest MNCs, it further underlines the importance of this event. Within HDC, we are focussing on two important areas, them being Capacity Building and Halal Integrity.

“Capacity Building will involve local players and their onward development, nurturing them to meet domestic requirements besides preparing them for challenges within the global market.

“Halal Integrity revolves around standards development and Halal certification and we are determined to maintain and strengthen our competitive advantage in this area, working with various academic institutions and relevant bodies to form a strong foundation for the capacity building programme.

“At HDC, the Halal agenda is a great opportunity for our country to excel. Our local stakeholders include Malaysians of all races and religions. HDC is full 100 per cent committed to the success of our mission, to achieve and realise the vision of our Prime Minister to make the country the global centre of Halal excellence”, stressed Tan Sri Dr Syed Jalaludin.

WHF 2007 will be held on May 7 and 8, 2007, at the prestigious Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. For further information, log into www.worldhalalforum.org or contact the WHF Secretariat Kuala Lumpur at 603- 6203 1025.


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