PUTRAJAYA, Sept 16 — Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mohd Na’im Mokhtar today clarified that Global Ikhwan Service and Business Holding (GISBH) did not forge halal certificates for their bread products.

The religious affairs minister further revealed that this was due to the absence of a halal certificate in the first place.

"When the Islamic Affairs Department of Kedah carried out investigations at their (GISB) factory, actually there was no issue of halal logos because there weren’t any,” Nai’m told reporters after the national Maulidur Rasul celebration here.

The Kedah Islamic Affairs Department had investigated the issue yesterday.

The minister also clarified that the photo of Global Ikhwan Utara's purported halal certification that went viral yesterday was an old photo from 2017. It was the company’s last certification.

Global Ikhwan Utara is part of the network under Global Ikhwan Services and Business Holdings (GISBH).

Yesterday, the matter went viral on the internet after checks with the Islamic Development Department's (Jakim) Halal Malaysia Portal revealed that the company does not have any halal certification for the product.

Global Ikhwan also clarified the matter in a statement yesterday that the company did not renew its certification in 2017.