PUTRAJAYA: The Prime Minister has proposed the setting up of a Syariah Compliance Commission to better regulate the Islamic financial sector and the halal industry.
Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the commission should be in place for a more comprehensive monitoring and regulation of the Islamic-related sectors.
"I hope this can be looked into as it will further support aspirations to make Malaysia a model and main reference for halal economy," he said at the Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi lecture on Monday (May 30).
The Prime Minister said the halal economy needs to be boosted as a competitive system that contributes greatly to the national economy.
"Furthermore, the market for halal products should also include non-Islamic countries," he added.
Ismail Sabri said realising its potential, the government has given due focus and attention to Malaysia's halal industry by including it in the Industrial Masterplan.
Through this masterplan, strategic cores were drawn up to turn Malaysia into a regional centre for halal services and products such as pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, food processing, textile and clothing.
"Halal is not just about meeting religious requirements but it has become a lifestyle and quality guarantee for a country," he said.
The Prime Minister noted that one of the bodies responsible for this is the Halal Development Corporation, a brainchild and initiative of former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
This agency, he said, had led the way in the development of the halal industry by determining standards and establishing an audit process to protect halal integrity.
