Overlapping jurisdictions hamper monitoring of halal slaughterhouses

KUALA LUMPUR: Overlapping jurisdictions among government ministries, departments and agencies have made it difficult to monitor slaughterhouse operations and enforce halal certification compliance, potentially allowing breaches of Islamic requirements.

The division of responsibilities among multiple agencies, each overseeing different aspects of operations, has also highlighted the absence of a comprehensive coordination mechanism to ensure halal compliance throughout the chicken supply chain.

The Department of Veterinary Services (DVS), for instance, handles applications for slaughterhouse construction and operating licences, including renewals.

The Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Ministry, meanwhile, focuses on enforcing trade integrity laws, including the sale of wholesale chicken without valid scheduled controlled goods permits and the misuse of halal logos or certificates.

The Health Ministry is responsible for ensuring hygiene and food safety standards are met, including preventing livestock products from being contaminated by bacteria or toxins before reaching consumers.

The Environment Department (DOE) monitors waste management at slaughterhouses to prevent environmental pollution, particularly water contamination caused by the discharge of wastewater and animal blood.

Local authorities are also responsible for ensuring premises have valid business permits and comply with requirements on hygiene, waste management and slaughterhouse operations.

Religious authorities, including state Islamic religious departments and the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim), oversee compliance with Islamic requirements, halal certification and enforcement relating to halal status.

Jakim said slaughterhouse operations fell under the jurisdiction of several authorities because they involved various processes, including slaughtering, hygiene, food safety, halal certification compliance and premises licensing.

It said integrated coordination in inspections and enforcement operations was therefore necessary among the relevant authorities, including local councils, DVS, ministries and state religious authorities, to strengthen oversight and curb slaughterhouse activities that violated Islamic requirements.

More concerningly, existing laws do not require all slaughterhouse operators to obtain a Malaysian Halal Certification (SPHM), creating a gap between permission to operate and official halal verification.

Jakim told Berita Harian that operating licences and halal certification served different purposes.

An operating licence allowed premises to conduct business subject to the relevant authorities' conditions, while SPHM verified compliance with Malaysia's halal certification requirements.

"Having an operating licence alone does not mean that a slaughterhouse is halal-certified," the religious authority said.

The regulatory gaps have come under renewed scrutiny following a raid on a chicken slaughterhouse warehouse in Puchong, Selangor, under Ops Taring Chiller recently.

Commenting on the issue, Muafakat Ilmuan Islam (Muis) senior fellow Bilal Jailani said the current halal crisis stemmed from an overly cautious legislative approach, leaving Muslim consumers exposed to the risk of buying raw chicken with uncertain halal status.

He said that despite Malaysia pioneering halal certification in 1974, the country still lacked a firm enforcement framework requiring certification at slaughterhouses, wholesale and retail levels, as well as for commercial food products.

He said it was time to review the voluntary halal certification approach and consider making certification mandatory across a wider range of food industry operators.

"The root of this crisis is that our halal legislation has been too cautious. Applications for halal certification indeed remain voluntary, but after decades, the time has come to make it mandatory," he said.

Meanwhile, Putrajaya member of parliament Datuk Dr Mohd Radzi Md Jidin also raised concerns over the halal status of raw chicken sold in the market.

In a post on his official Facebook account yesterday, he said the issue needed to be addressed through a comprehensive monitoring and enforcement framework covering the halal chicken and meat supply chains.