Doubts on Malaysia's halal industry rises
Photo for illustrative purposes.
Its secretary-general Dr Helmi Ibrahim claimed the government had yet to overcome certification of halal beef import issue to boost local market confidence.
"Previously the Malaysia halal certificate ws respected but now that level of confidence has decreased. The reason is that we have an integrity issue. There is confusion over the validity and legality of the halal certificate that the government failed to deal with previously.
"Confidence in Indonesia and Singapore seems better than Malaysia," he told Sinar.
This comes after Malaysian Quarantine and Inspection Services Department (Maqis) over the weekend said they detected the presence of imported meat mixed with smuggled buffalo or pork meat.
Maqis futher revealed the companies involved in the act had plagiarised labels, forged stamps and repackaged imported frozen meat.
"Previously, several companies came to Malaysia to invest under the Jakim halal certification but there are doubts and companies prefer to go to Indonesia as the certificate is trusted," he added.
To overcome the issue, Helmi urged the Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Mohd Na'im Mokhtar to hold joint discussions with stakeholders to overcome the issue.
The #RasuahBusters Team committee member urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the latest revelations by Maqis.
Sinar on Dec 2, 2020 revealed the tactics of a cartel that smuggled frozen meat from China, Ukraine, Brazil and Argentina had repackaged the meat with a halal logo and sold it to the Malaysian market.
