Malaysia Halal Council To Spearhead Halal Management, Development - Deputy PM

PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), Feb 12 (Bernama) -- The Special Cabinet Committee on Halal Industry Management and Development was dissolved Thursday and replaced with the Malaysia Halal Council (MHM). Announcing this on Thursday, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the committee's functions would be divided between the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) and the Halal Industry Development Corp (HDC). "Jakim will concentrate on the certification process, governance and matters related to Syariah, while HDC will focus on expanding and internationalising the halal industry," he told a press conference after chairing the last meeting of the cabinet committee here. Ahmad Zahid said other bodies and agencies from various ministries would be consolidated under the MHM to assail the industry to greater heights. "Our country has embarked on halal certification for a long time and we should take proactive measures to bring Malaysia to the frontline of halal product production," he said. He said halal products should not be confined only to foods but also other fields such as pharmaceuticals, tourism, services, and banking and insurance. Hence, a special Act on the MHM would be formulated by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and Jakim, he said, adding that the bill would be fined tune by the Attorney-General Chambers upon Cabinet's approval for tabling in the Dewan Rakyat (Malaysian Parliament). --BERNAMA