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Posted
October 30, 2018 06:06:44
Indonesian President Joko Widodo"s running mate Ma"ruf Amin is planning to impose mandatory certification on all halal products next year, a move many see as a campaign tactic to tap into the archipelago"s rising conservative tide.
Key points:
- Muslims account for 90 per cent of Indonesia"s population of 260 million
- Presidential candidates are riding on religious sentiment to gain popular support
- If Mr Amin is elected to government he could accelerate the process of requiring halal labels
Halal refers to products that are "permissible" for consumption by Islamic law, but through years of politicking it has often become synonymous as a broad label for quality products.
Mr Amin — who is also the chief of the country"s top clerical body, the Indonesian Council of Ulama (MUI) — announced the plans at a halal expo in Yogyakarta on Java island this month.
"Praise be to God … the halal certificate that was initially voluntary will become mandatory from 2019," Mr Amin declared.
"Halal is my life."
The audience responded by chanting: "Halal! Halal! Halal! Halal!"
Mr Amin is considered one of the most powerful Muslim clerics in Indonesia, and has previously supported controversial fatwas against secularism and railed against homosexuality.
While local media reports claim Mr Amin"s announcement is a political motive with its eyes on the April 2019 election, Mr Amin defended his plans and reiterated: "It"s about supporting halal, not our campaign".
But with Muslims accounting for 90 per cent of Indonesia"s population of 260 million, presidential candidates are leaning further towards religious sentiments to gain popular support for the election next year.
Indonesia"s ambition to be a global halal hub
Indonesia had already introduced the Halal Product Guarantee Law to make halal certification compulsory just before former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stepped down in 2014.
But the law was never passed by Mr Widodo when he took power as discussions about how to implement it were still taking place.
Lukmanul Hakim, the head of the halal certification body at MUI, told the ABC it would require various institutions and parties to come to an agreement to pass the law.
But Mr Hakim said that if Mr Amin was elected to government next year, it would accelerate the process of compulsory certification becoming law.
Only 20 per of all foods and products that are permissible for Muslims to consume are currently labelled "halal", according to MUI.
For example, chips and vegetable noodles are not labelled halal, but under the new certification, they would have to be.
Analysts say that the move is not only political, but a means for MUI to generate revenue, as the Islamic body would be the one responsible for providing the certification at a cost.
MUI also say that they want Indonesia to be a hub for halal foods and set an example for the global halal industry in terms of standard certification processes.
On Thursday, Indonesia will host an international halal expo to try promote its halal products to other Asian countries.
If the law successfully passes, foods produced in Indonesia with halal certification could more easily be justified to be exported to other Muslim markets that are in demand.
Topics:
islam,
religion-and-beliefs,
government-and-politics,
laws,
indonesia
jokowi
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