Many bumiputra companies do not have halal certification, says Mydin boss

PUTRAJAYA: The main contributing factor for the low representation of bumiputra companies in the halal industry is their inability to meet halal certification requirements, says Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd managing director Datuk Dr Ameer Ali Mydin.

Ameer, who is the Bumiputra Retailers Association president, said out of the 9,162 halal-certified companies in 2023, only 38.7% or 3,562 are bumiputra-owned.

He said out of the total, 6,857 are micro-enterprises and 1,155 are small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), while 1,150 are multinational companies.

He said among the main barriers for bumiputra small business owners to obtain halal certification is that their operations are carried out on premises such as at the back of their houses that do not meet halal certificate requirements.

Ameer proposed the creation of a tiered system and a green lane to help more bumiputra companies obtain halal certification.

He also suggested special financing, such as crowd financing or waqaf, to assist bumiputra companies.

He said that through cooperation with strategic partners, bumiputra companies could also be given access to industrial premises or facilities that are compliant with halal certificate requirements.

Ameer said that bumiputra companies also face challenges in terms of their export abilities.

"Out of Malaysia's total RM1.4 trillion in exports, RM53bil are halal products. Out of this, only RM2.9bil or 6% are from bumiputra companies. That's a very small percentage.

"To help bumiputra companies, we need two policy decisions from the government," he said during a session at the 2024 Bumiputra Economic Congress (KEB 2024) here.

He said that there must be a policy mandating every official government programme and gift basket to comprise at least 70% halal bumiputra products.

"Secondly, there is a current policy where at least 30% of the total stock-keeping unit (SKU) displayed on the shelf space is allocated for bumiputra goods or products.

"This is currently in place for foreign supermarkets only, but it must also be expanded to include local supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores.

"With these two advantages, bumiputra businesses will be able to grow further," he said.