Hamisah Hamid
HALAL Industry Development Corp Sdn Bhd (HDC) is waiting for Tamadam
Bonded Warehouse Bhd’s proposal on logistics infrastructure framework
for halal parks in the country.
Chief
executive officer Datuk Jamil Bidin said once HDC receives the
proposal, it will conduct a study to see if the framework adheres to
its guidelines on halal parks.
Jamil: If the proposed framework is feasible, we will recommend it to the companies operating in the halal parks
“The
study will not take long. We can even complete it within one week. If
the proposed framework is feasible, we will recommend it to the
companies operating in the halal parks,” he said after the launch of
HDC briefing on halal certification by Deputy Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Mashitah Ibrahim in Petaling Jaya
yesterday.
Second-board Tamadam is expected to reveal the
framework on logistics infrastructure for halal parks at its annual
general meeting today. The proposed logistics framework is likely to
bring in multi-million ringgit income to the company.
Tamadam’s
comprehensive halal logistics components, supply and distribution
framework for the halal parks will include warehouses, distribution
centres, commercial properties and IT system.
Currently, there
are four halal parks designated by the government at Port Klang Free
Zone (PKFZ) in Selangor, Gambang in Pahang, Padang Besar in Perlis and
Tanjung Manis in Sarawak.
Jamil said HDC can only recommend
Tamadam’s logistics framework for companies operating in halal parks,
but it is up to the respective companies to adopt Tamadam’s services.
He
said the PKFZ halal park, whose infrastructure and building have been
completed, has started to attract interest from a few companies.
The
park in Sarawak has received more than RM1.3 billion investment from
over 20 companies, mostly foreign-owned, while the one in Pahang has an
anchor Bumiputera company, Prima Agri Products Sdn Bhd.
The
halal park in Perlis, which is designed to utilise raw materials from
Southern Thailand and expertise from Malaysia, is still in the
conceptual stage.
Meanwhile, Jamil said since HDC took over the
authority for halal certification from Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia
(Jakim) in April this year, it has received over 380 applications from
local companies and more than 40 applications from overseas-based
companies.
From the total, HDC has approved 80 local applications and one overseas application.
“About 85 per cent of these applications were submitted online, through e-halal that was developed by Jakim,” he said.
