A uniform halal standard vital to attract more market players

Initially, halal used to be related to only the food consumed by Muslims that is free from pork and alcohol.

However, today, the word halal has been given an extensive meaning and standard.

Speaking to Bernama on the sidelines of the recently-ended Malaysia International Halal Showcase 2015 (MIHAS), Shapers Malaysia Sdn Bhd Conference Director, Abdalhamid David Evans said the halal ecosystem under the Islamic economy has moved from just food to finance, travel, cosmetic and personal care.

"We are now moving into the entertainment, digital economy and modest fashion, creating an US$8 trillion market value," he said.

Realising this, Abdalhamid has called on Muslim leaders to identify solutions in every mechanism with the halal development and certification and to start engaging all those thoughts with people around the world.

He said this was necessary to avoid confusion in the industry as there were different schools of Islamic thoughts.

"We do not want the confusion to give political impact among the multinational corporations, entrepreneurs and start-ups," he said, adding that the industry should gets more popular among non-Muslim countries since there was a huge market potential to tap in the industry," he said.

It was reported that Dubai is striving to be the capital for halal or Islamic Economy in 2020.

"This is a market place where a good product would sell but honest transaction, correct business behaviour, correct description, as well as, the certification and accreditation are the challenges for the industry, he added.

The four-day MIHAS 2015 was held in Kuala Lumpur, involving international countries namely China, Algeria, Indonesia, Thailand and Qatar.

It managed to secure a total sales of RM443.16 million (US$122.17 million) via its incoming buying mission, a one-day programme conducted in conjunction with Mihas.