KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — With Malaysia seeking to become a global halal hub, the authorities have recently nudged local eateries to obtain certification to prove their food is safe for Muslim consumption, more so after a recent claim that restaurants with “pork-free” signs were purportedly confusing.
Malay Mail Online spoke to the proprietors and managers of several food outlets in the Klang Valley for their thoughts on this issue and found out that while they think a halal certificate may boost their businesses among the pious, even businesses run by Muslims were put off by what they believe will be the bureaucratic process to meet the stringent criteria.
“I really feel it needs to be easier to get a halal certificate,” the owner of a chain mamak restaurant — as Malaysia’s ubiquitous hangout joints are called — in Kota Damansara said.
“My chain of six restaurants has tried applying, but we were told there were issues being sorted by the authorities, but we have prepared all that is necessary,” the Indian Muslim proprietor who asked to be known only as Salem said.
According to Salem, most restaurants have to wait over a year before knowing if they will receive the certification.
Because of the long wait and bureaucracy, he said most Indian-Muslim restaurants would rather forego the application and run the restaurant based on consumer confidence and urged the authorities to simplify the process.
Mohamad Kamarul Baharin, manager of Restoran Ismail in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, said his establishment never even tried applying.
“We are providing halal food. It is obvious enough. I am not saying it is not important [to be acknowledged officially], but I don’t think the current system provides any benefit to anyone. I don’t believe the authorities have had the manpower to implement it effectively,” he said.
Noorul Amin Abdul Karim, who manages the Kota Damansara branch of Nasi Kandar Padang, said it all boiled down to trust.
“When people see an Indian-Muslim restaurant, they know that Muslims are preparing their food and they know that it would be halal, so they wouldn’t be looking out for our certificate,” he said.
He also said he sympathised with “pork-free” restaurants that were halal compliant, adding that it would be unfortunate if these businesses lost their customers just because they did not have the halal certification.
“Myself as a consumer, I always advocate for my own family to try new places to eat, but I teach my children to just make sure that alcohol is not served in the restaurant and that the restaurant does not serve non-halal dishes. It’s an individual’s choice,” Noorul said.
Shell Out Seafood Restaurant, which recently opened a second outlet in Setia Alam, is an example of a pork-free joint that has also taken the further step of banning alcohol from being served on its premises.
When contacted, its public relations manager Jeremy Yap said the restaurant does its best to respect its Muslim clientele, but found it would not gain much compared to the exhaustive and costly process just to get a halal certificate.
“We have thought about it, but it is not easy. We have read the regulations. There must be Muslim chefs, Muslim workers, a surau in the restaurant. It is not easy. But some Muslim restaurants don’t have halal certificates either, so I don’t think that this is an issue.
“We are honest with our customers. We have had people ask us whether we were halal, and we explain to them our preparations, that we use halal ingredients, but we do not have the certification, and they make the decision themselves,” Yap said.
Like Shell Out Seafood, Pickle & Fig’s co-owner Pang Jia Woei said he has considered applying for halal certification as the Taman Tun Dr Ismail restaurant has many Muslim customers.
However, he was deterred by the huge consultancy fees he would have to pay and the bureaucracy involved, after making inquiries.
“It takes months for visitation. Longest I heard was six months,” he said.
Plus, he said none of his Muslim customers have ever expressed discomfort or raised any problems about his restaurant’s lack of halal certification.
On the website of Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development (Jakim), information on halal certification as listed under the halal hub division section states that chain restaurants must have two full-time Muslim staff present on its premises for every shift.
For single restaurants, a Muslim Malaysian citizen must be appointed as a full-time staff and at least one Muslim worker must be present on the premises for each shift.
These are just some of the examples of the criteria required for halal certification.
Yeo Kian Howe, co-owner of 3 Bags Full, a restaurant in Kota Damansara which displays a “pork-free” sign, said that though he may gain more customers with halal certification, he was not considering it as it would require a retraining of his staff and the hiring of more people.
“It would be a very big change. It would be very tedious, and the application process is very long,” he told Malay Mail Online.
