More than 200 restaurant operators attended the first halal seminar held by the Subang Jaya Municipal Council today to discuss and acquire knowledge concerning halal standard and halal certificate.
The seminar, graced by Selangor Islamic Affair and Malay Cultures exco Hasan Mohamed Ali, discussed topics such as MPSJ’s role to halal restaurant operators, procedure and guidelines to secure halal certificate and current issues on halal standard.
MPSJ president Adnan Ikhsan, during his opening speech, said the seminar is meant to address concerns on the misuse of halal certificates by certain operators
.“Some of the non-halal restaurants purposely confuse their consumers by showcasing holy Quran phrases in their premises,” he said.
He added that the term halal involves various aspects ranging from the way the animals are slaughtered, raw ingredients, and also added ingredients up until when a product is ready to be served.
Komunitikini however learnt that the local council is not empowered to compound the sub-standard halal eateries, since the job is assigned to the Selangor Islam Department (JAIS).
The seminar was endorsed by Hasan, who wished to expand the event to other Selangor local councils by next year.
He said more efforts should be placed in studying a system that will uphold the halal standard and eliminate the ‘fake halal’.
He also mentioned that JAIS faces a shortage in manpower pertaining to enforcements, as only 10 officers are assigned to overlook the whole of Selangor.
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