Corruption, arrogance, mislabelling mar religious certification process for food
Today, only a small fraction of Malay sole proprietors and SMEs have gained halal certification. In addition, only a small proportion of international hotels and resorts have halal registration. SME owners and food and beverage managers of hotels say the major barrier to gaining halal registration is money. For many sole proprietors and SMEs who ran traditional businesses, the on-site infrastructure requirements were prohibitive and way beyond their financial means.
A dark side to the halal certification process has cropped up, however, for a process millions of Malaysians take very seriously but know very little about. SME proprietors and F&B managers told Asia Sentinel that JAKIM officials routinely request cash payments above the statutory fees in order to guarantee registration.
In addition, they say, Municipal Councils and the fire department also request cash payments above statutory fees to issue the necessary documents required by JAKIM in halal product and premises applications. According to one F&B manager, this practice is not just carried out by a few rogue officers. It appears endemic. One officer, the manager said, brought out his immediate superior to negotiate the payment.
I mean, yeah, fuck JAKIM and dismantle them, but also fuck the idea that you need a “Halal Industry”, as in, you don’t need labs to look for pig particles and shit, and really shift it from a industrial to a more ethical and sociological aspect. Why the fuck would I care about how many parts per million of pork DNA in my sandwich, when I don’t even know if its ingredients was enabled by forced labor, exploitation and theft of land?
