Malaysia is a leading market in Southeast Asia for the production and consumption of halal products, with a total halal export value of RM59.46 billion in 2022. But not just anyone can claim their items as halal certified. You’ll need to follow the proper procedure and be ready to prove your claims.

Malaysia holds its own as a nation with a formidable presence in the halal market. This year, Malaysia’s exports comprising halal products are expected to increase by up to 15%. These products are certified ‘halal’ once they are proven to be permissible for Muslims to consume.

The term ‘halal’ is commonly applied to food and beverage products, denoting that the means by which they are produced and their components or ingredients not only need to be on the right side of sanitary and safety regulations, but also compliant with Islamic law.

Essentially, no part of the production should come into contact with or involve any ingredients or elements that are considered impure in Islam, like pork, alcohol, or non-Islamic methods of slaughter (in the case of non-porcine livestock meats).

That said, even if your business is not directly involved with food production and instead deals with cosmetics or other non-food products, there are still some other things to take note too. Any business looking to get halal certification will need to take the guidelines below into account.

Determine your category as an applicant

When applying for your business’s halal certification with the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia or Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM), you will have to determine your applicant category depending on what your organisation does. The category options are:

1. Manufacturer/producer

2. Distributor/trader

3. Sub-contract manufacturer

4. Repacking

5. Food premise

6. Abattoir/slaughterhouse

Access Halal Malaysia official portal and submit the necessary details

Once you’ve determined your business’s appropriate category, you can then access Halal Malaysia, JAKIM’s halal hub, and peruse the MYeHALAL System submissions page. Here, you will be asked to submit the required information so that your application can be processed. The details you will need to furnish are as follows:

• Your company’s profile and business registration

• The name and description of your product or menu item

• The list of ingredients used

• The name and address of the manufacturer or ingredient supplier

• The current halal certification for any ready-made ingredients or product specifications that are critical to your production (only if applicable)

• The type of packaging material used for your product

• An overview of the manufacturing procedure

• Other documents such as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP), quality assurance certification from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Good Hygiene Practices (GHP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Total Quality Management (TQM), etc (if any)

• The location map of the premise or factory involved in producing the specific product

Be ready for further approval and action from JAKIM

Not only do you need to submit the aforementioned details, you will also need to have them available on-hand in an allocated document or file. You may need to produce them again when appointed JAKIM officers come to you for further confirmation, as the next steps will involve on-site inspections and follow-up checks. This might also mean that the officers will require samples for laboratory analysis, so it’s best to be prepared for any subsequent request.

Have your finances ready for the required fees

The entire process of getting your halal certification will incur fees, depending on the size of your business. Expect to fork up anywhere between RM100 (for small companies, slaughterhouses, or food premises — per premise) to RM400 (for medium companies or slaughterhouses).

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