Indonesia: House invites businesses to voice opinions on Halal bill

The Jakarta Post

With a bill on Halal product certification currently being deliberated, the House of Representatives says it is ready to take on opinions and complaints from food businesses and producers.

“They are welcome to pass on their complaints. We will consider them in the [deliberation] of the government regulation,” House Commission VIII member Muhammad Oheo said Tuesday as quoted by tribunnews.com.

The draft law has worried many food businesses, which say that any new ruling could further complicate procedures prior to distribution and potentially increase costs.

“It should be a non-Halal law instead, because there are fewer products that are not halal,” Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Sofjan Wanandi said.

Sofjan added that the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI), tasked with checking products to be certified, would find it difficult to determine the halal content of products.