KUALA LUMPUR: Foreign factories that plan to manufacture their products in Malaysia and get halal certification will be facilitated by government agencies, says Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“For example, in China, they want to use the Islamic Development Department’s (Jakim) halal logo on their products as it holds credibility.
“The Halal Development Corporation and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) will then facilitate them in investing here and employing local talent,” he told reporters after addressing the World Halal Business Conference 2024 here yesterday.
The conference was held in conjunction with the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (Mihas), taking place until Friday at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Halal Industry Development Council chairman, said that Malaysia is ready to share its knowledge in issuing halal certificates with other countries.
He said that plans by some companies from other countries that wanted to relocate to Malaysia would help in increasing the country’s export value as well as creating more jobs.
Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said that Mihas is set to expand its reach to the Middle East and North Africa region by holding the exhibition in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.The international debut is targeted to generate export sales of RM1bil, adding that he is confident the goal could be achieved by participating Malaysian companies.
Tengku Zafrul also said that his ministry, in collaboration with Matrade, will be leading Malaysia’s participation in the Osaka World Expo in Japan as well as through programmes in conjunction with Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship next year.
“Malaysian companies are invited to participate in Asean-related programmes in Malaysia and also at the Osaka World Expo from April to October 2025 to seek international business opportunities, especially in Japan,” he said in his opening speech at the launching of Mihas yesterday.
According to Tengku Zafrul, the National Trade Blueprint led by Matrade supports Malaysia as a global halal hub, which is in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan and the New Industrial Master Plan 2030.
“We want to create an export cluster and attract global companies to source for halal products and services here, including from micro, small and medium enterprises,” he said.
