‘Halal’ lifts to avoid cross-contamination

The controversial signboards, explains MAH, are there as a preventive measure.

PETALING JAYA: The controversial signboards at the Crystal Crown Hotel here are not meant to discriminate but were put up to ensure that the guidelines pertaining to “non-halal” food are adhered to, said Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) head Reginald Pereira.

He said that the steps were taken to avoid “incidental cross contamination” of food but clarified that no such incidents had happened to date.

According to Pereira, it was more of a preventive measure.

“This is why Crystal Crown had to put up the signboards…which only serves to make sure that suppliers are in the know,” he added, referring to the signboards next to elevators in the hotel which stated that only “halal” goods could be transported in them.

Pereira said hotels which still had valid halal certificates and were not up for renewal could still operate based on the Malaysian Islamic Development Department’s (Jakim) previous standard operating procedure.

However, he said that once these licenses expired, the hotels would have to comply with the strict guidelines set by Jakim in order to renew their licenses.

“There is a certain set of regulations and requirements set by the religious authorities based on the Malaysian standard of halal certification,” he told FMT.

He was referring to the government encouraging hotels to apply for or renew their halal certification, only if they complied with Jakim’s guidelines.

“This whole application and renewal issue for hotels that serve pork is under review through focus group discussions and hopefully a solution will be met soon,” he said.

He also explained that MAH and Jakim decided to clarify the current procedures and to rationalise matters that MAH members must practice to attain their “halal” certification