Restaurant group against mandatory halal certification for non-Muslim eateries

 

Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas) president J Govindasamy said restaurants that do not prioritise Muslim customers should be allowed to operate without halal certification if they wished.

PETALING JAYA: 

Non-Muslim eateries should not be required to obtain halal certification, said a restaurant owners group.

Rather, said Malaysian Indian Restaurant Owners Association (Primas) president J Govindasamy, it should be left to the individual owners to decide if they want to apply for halal certification.

In a statement, Govindasamy said restaurants that do not prioritise Muslim customers should be allowed to operate without halal certification if they wished.

While Govindasamy noted the importance of certification in drawing Muslim customers, he also raised concerns about the high costs involved, which he said would lead to increased food prices for customers.

There is no need to impose mandatory regulations requiring non-Muslim eateries to obtain halal certification. The decision to do so should be left to the restaurant owners,

 he said.

Govindasamy pointed out that restaurants were already required to obtain licences from local councils and were graded annually by these councils, adding that hygiene and food quality were also regularly monitored by the health department.

He was responding to a recent announcement by religious affairs minister Na’im Mokhtar that the Malaysian Islamic religious department (Jakim) was studying a proposal to make halal certification mandatory for all food establishments that do not serve pork and alcohol. - FMT