KUALA LUMPUR :10 March 2010
Bahtera Lagenda Sdn Bhd Managing Director, Abdullah Fahim B. AB Rahmad had come out with written statement that IFRC, Halal Food Council and IFANCA Halal certificates and logos are still valid and acceptable according to Malaysia Law. Their lawyer confirmed that the instruction by MAIS (Majlis Agama Islam Selangor) is ultra vires and not relevent, therefore the prohibition has no legal binding.
"We will maintain, develop and continue to provide effective and efficient services, latest information, facts and standards, established strategic alliances and development of best practices in assuring Halal, Hygiene and Safety compliance across the entire supply chain of the food industry for the benefit of both business and public."
With MS 1500:2004 in place, JAKIM should ‘certify the certifiers’ like BLSB and not try to grab everything. By so doing, the halal industry can expand and grow. If JAKIM try to grab everything, the halal industry will be like it is, limping along.
Malaysia should learn from standards like ISO, IFOAM etc. The bodies that came out with the standards have allowed 1000s of certifiers to certify to their standards.