SHANGHAI, Sept 12 – Any decision on the proposal to make halal certification mandatory for all restaurants and food operators is under the jurisdiction of the Conference of Rulers, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said the issue should not be turned into polemics as it is still in the proposal phase and has yet to become a permanent policy.
In fact, he said no party should feel threatened by the proposal for mandatory halal certification.
“Furthermore, matters related to religion, including halal issues, are under the jurisdiction of the Conference of Rulers. If the study finds that halal certification should or should not be made mandatory, we will leave it to the Rulers to decide. If the matter is brought to the Cabinet, we will follow the advice of the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) to ensure that this issue is not turned into polemics.
“We must respect the current system. Even though I am the chairman of the Halal Malaysia Council, I will certainly take a cautious approach regarding the findings of the study,” he told the Malaysian media on the last day of his working visit to China.
