Newly appointed Minister in Prime Minister's Department (for religious affairs) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced that future halal certification will be undertaken by the Halal Industry Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (HDC).

zahid hamidi 02"The cabinet on Wednesday decided that the issuance of halal certifications will be handled by HDC. This organisation will also take care of research and development, certification and promotion of halal products," said Zahid.

Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) will still be responsible for assisting HDC for the time being and its officers will be loaned to them to help out, said Zahid.

"All the standards and specifications for attaining a halal certificate will be adhered to by HDC.

"Besides that the halal logo used by Jakim will also be maintained," he added.

Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) has also recognised HDC as a capable body for issuing halal certificates and Malaysia as a World Halal Hub, he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.

HDC is led by chairperson Dr Syed Jalaludin Syed Salim and CEO Jamil Bidin. The company currently has 40 companies from other countries using its certification.

According to Zahid, HDC is under the Prime Minister's Department and will be looked after by the Economic Planning Unit chief Amirsham A Aziz.

HDC was established on Sept 18, 2006 to coordinate the overall development of the halal industry. The idea behind HDC was first mooted by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at the tabling of the Ninth Malaysian Plan (2006-2010).

Ikim to help Islam Hadhari

Meanwhile, Zahid commented that his first official visit to Institute of Islamic Understanding (Ikim) was very positive.

He revealed that many quarters said that Islam Hadhari was among the factors which contributed to Barisan Nasional's recent setback at the 2008 elections.

"In the 2004 election, Islam Hadhari contributed to the success of Barisan Nasional but we noted that during the last elections the image of Islam Hadhari was twisted by some people," said Zahid.

"As such, Ikim will be asked to help translate certain principles of Islam Hadhari into actions."

"This is to ensure that Islam Hadhari is not merely a concept but something which is more concrete," he added. "Hadhari is about civilisations and many have wrongly interpreted it."

Apart from Islam Hadhari, Ikim will also be asked to hold more inter-faith dialogues to promote better understanding of Islam.