PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) has never appointed a consultant to handle applications for halal certificates on its behalf, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa (pix) said.
As such, he did not rule out the possibility of the alleged corruption in the application and approval for Jakim’s halal certificates was committed by the so-called ‘consultant’.
“There are many cases where people came to me and said that they have applied and waited (for halal certificate) for about a year. When I questioned who they applied it from, they said from Jakim officer.
“Upon inspection, it was found that the officer was a mere ‘consultant’, motivated by money and did not follow the right procedures,” he told reporters after attending the Malaysian Halal Inclusion Roundtable discussion here graced by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, here today.
Furthermore, Mujahid said the halal certification application has never been done in person with any of Jakim staff as it is done online by filling in the application form with all the required details.
“Then, the application will be processed and only if there is a problem, Jakim will call in the applicant,” he said.
However, the minister said Jakim would definitely take stern action if any of its officer or staff is found to have taken a bribe in approving the application.
An article entitled ‘Malaysia Halal Crisis’ was published in the Asia Sentinel website on Oct 10 claiming that Jakim staff had integrity and competency issues in the Malaysian halal certification process.
The article, among others, claimed that a Jakim officer had asked for payments for the purpose of registering meat-processing premises, apart from being arrogant and unhelpful.
Mujahid said the article was a mere accusation to smear Jakim’s image as it did not come up with substantive evidence. — Bernama
