FILE PHOTO: Head of BPJPH, Prof. Sukoso, speaking at a Global Islamic Economy Summit Roundtable Series in Jakarta on September 25, 2019.
JAKARTA – Trust in Indonesia’s government officials and agencies is once again in question after two cases of corruption involving cabinet ministers were announced in as many weeks.
On Sunday (Dec 6), Social Affairs Minister Juliari Batubara was named a suspect in a graft case involving the distribution of COVID-19 social aid, a week after Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo was nabbed by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), accused of taking bribes in a case involving lobster larvae export permits.
In the halal sector, allegations of bribery and corruption involving LPPOM-MUI have been circling for some years. LPPOM-MUI was previously Indonesia’s only nationwide halal certifier. MUI, or Majelis Ulama Indonesia, is Indonesia’s top Islamic clerical body and its LPPOM provided halal certification services since 1989. Indonesia’s government in October 2019 installed BPJPH as the country’s official national halal certifier, leaving MUI to provide services to the agency, including fatawa and halal auditing.
In a bid to regain international trust in Indonesia’s halal integrity after allegations of bribery and corruption involving LPPOM-MUI, BPJPH plans to implement ISO 37001: Anti-Bribery Management System, Prof. Sukoso, its chairperson told Salaam Gateway.
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