PROFILE : HJ. ABDULLAH FAHIM A. RAHMAN AMN (HALAL CONSULTANT)
Born in 1948 in the state of Kelantan, Hj. Abdullah Fahim is a former JAKIM Research Director who was also incharge of Halal Certification of Malaysia from 1993 to 1998. He is holding Bachelor and Master degree in Islamic Studies from National University of Malaysia. He joined the government service in 1975 as research officer with JAKIM in the Prime Minister Department. He was promoted as Senior Assistant Director of research in 1984. In 1987, he joined a team of Malaysian senior government officers for a one-month study tour in USA sponsored by United State Information Service for a closer look about Islam in USA. In 1993, he was appointed as Director of Research, which is also responsible for halal certification. As Research Director of JAKIM, he directly involved in preparing and presenting working papers to Malaysian National Fatwa Committee on issues pertaining Islamic laws including contemporary issues on halal matters such as the status cheese and rennet, stunning, mechanical slaughtering, alcohol and filth (najis) and others.
During his time, the halal certificate and logo of JAKIM was introduced in early 1994. In 1996, he was invited to USA again under Cochran Fellowship for 2-weeks halal program. He presented several papers on halal in seminars locally and internationally.
In 1998, he opted early retirement to join a company awarded conducting halal evaluation for Malaysian Government (JAKIM) under privatization scheme. In early 2001, he left the company and set-up his own company doing consultation for halal certification national and international to meet demands in and outside Malaysia.
He is currently the Secretary General of World Halal Food Council since July 2002. He has vast experience in halal auditing and certification especially for abattoir, food, cosmetics and food supplements. He joined IFANCA in July 2001 as South East Asia Representative and has set-up Associated World Halal Organization (AWHO), a partnership scheme of halal certification bodies for overseas products and kitchen. The scheme has been working well since 2002 with good response from Malaysia and overseas subscribers.
