Govt criticized for not involving MUI in 'halal' labeling plan<\/p>\n
By Sri Wahyuni<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government is expected to announce a decree
\non food product labeling this month but it is deplorable that
\nsuch a long-awaited decree is likely to be issued without the
\ninvolvement of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI).<\/p>\n
The draft of the decree has been submitted to the State
\nSecretariat Office, but the council's delegate had walked out
\nduring a brainstorming session with the deliberation team.<\/p>\n
"There is something MUI will never agree with," said MUI
\ndelegate Aisjah Girindra, who is also Director of MUI's Food,
\nDrug and Cosmetics Research Institute.<\/p>\n
The deliberation team, which discussed the draft last month,
\ncomprised delegates from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of
\nReligion, Ministry of Food, Ministry of Trade and Industry, the
\nmanufacturing sector and MUI.<\/p>\n
Girindra found an unacceptable clause in the draft which
\npermitted manufacturers to put halal (permissible according to
\nIslamic teachings) labels on products without the council's
\nresearch institute evaluating the products.<\/p>\n
Up to now, halal recognition has always been given by MUI.
\nGirindra said the research institution conducted a thorough
\nexamination through office and field research. The findings were
\nthen presented to MUI's Fatwa (religious decree) Commission which
\ndecided whether products were halal.<\/p>\n
"The fatwa issuance is based on the result of the commission's
\ndecision, whose members comprise ulemas qualified in theology and
\nritual law and in providing responsible social perspectives," MUI
\nChairman K.H. Hasan Basri said.<\/p>\n
That's why MUI's halal certificates are always signed by three
\nparties: MUI's Research Institute Director, MUI's Fatwa
\nCommission Chairman, and MUI's Chairman.<\/p>\n
"Products having halal certificates are guaranteed by MUI,"
\nsaid Girindra, a Bogor Institute of Agriculture biochemistry
\nprofessor. Therefore letting manufacturers put halal labels on
\ntheir products is "truly a real disaster for Moslems", she said.<\/p>\n
The issue became one of the hottest media topics in 1996 after
\nthe government announced its would issue a decree on it and a new
\nFood Law. The controversy focused on whether halal labels should
\nbe part of product labels or put on separately.<\/p>\n
The controversy intensified when the government was said to
\nhave appointed private firm PT Daya Bangun Persada to produce
\nhalal stickers. Daya would be allowed to collect Rp 10 for each
\nlabel issued.<\/p>\n
Objections came from many parties including the Indonesian
\nConsumers Organization (YLKI). YLKI chairwoman Tini Hadad said
\nsuch a fee would increase the price of products.<\/p>\n
Although senior government officials, including President
\nSoeharto, appealed for prices not to be raised, Tini was
\nuncertain the appeals would be heeded.<\/p>\n
This is understandable. Take the case of PT Indofood Sukses
\nMakmur which makes 7.2 billion packages of instant noodles
\nannually. Can you imagine how much it would have to spend to pay
\nfor the halal stickers?<\/p>\n
"I don't think there would be any manufacturer in the world
\nwilling to accept such a consequence all alone. As far as I know,
\nall manufacturers are reluctant to allocate additional funds,"
\nTini said.<\/p>\n
Therefore, it is consumers who will bear the brunt of such an
\nunnecessary cost, she said.<\/p>\n
The public debate did force the government to postpone the
\nrealization of the halal labeling plan until the governmental
\ndecree becomes law.<\/p>\n
The halal label controversy started when a tripartite joint
\nagreement was signed by the Minister of Religious Affairs, the
\nMinister of Health and the Chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas
\nCouncil in June 1996. The so called "Charter of Cooperation"
\nshowed the importance of halal labeling on products including
\nbeverages, drugs, and cosmetics.<\/p>\n
Minister of Health Sujudi made it even clearer through a
\nministerial decree in August stating that labeling would be the
\nMinistry of Health's responsibility. So halal labels would be
\nissued by the Ministry of Health -- in this case the Directorate
\nGeneral of Food and Drugs -- only if fatwa decrees were issued.<\/p>\n
"If MUI says 'halal', then the Ministry of Health will say
\n'halal'. If not, we won't say so," Sujudi said at the time.<\/p>\n
Thus "only those with MUI's halal certificates would be
\nallowed to submit proposals for halal labels to the Ministry of
\nHealth," Girindra said.<\/p>\n
He said what happened at the deliberation of the draft of the
\ngovernment decree was not in line with what was previously
\nagreed.<\/p>\n
"It's quite possible that such a policy could cause another
\nuproar, like the pork oil issue years ago," Girindra said.<\/p>\n
The issue was sparked by a university campus bulletin in
\nJanuary 1988 about food allegedly contaminated by non-halal
\nelements like pork oil along with a list of 34 nonhalal food and
\ndrinks. The report was done by the Students' Senate of Animal
\nHusbandry Faculty of Brawijaya University, Malang, East Java. It
\nwas based on research done by Tri Susanto, a lecturer at the
\nuniversity.<\/p>\n
The list later expanded into 63 products creating a public
\nuproar. People were afraid to buy products like Supermie and
\nIndomie, beverages -- including various brands of milk products
\n-- and even cosmetic and health products like soap and
\ntoothpaste.<\/p>\n
Sales of food, beverages and cosmetic declined sharply. Huge
\nstocks piled up in stores. Production of major food brands nose
\ndived. Sales of ABC ketchup, for instance, dropped 40 to 50
\npercent.<\/p>\n
The incident inspired MUI to set up a research institute in
\n1989 whose main task was to evaluate whether a products were
\nhalal.<\/p>\n
Since then, thousands of food, beverages and cosmetic products
\nhave been given halal certificates.<\/p>\n
"Not only Moslem consumers take the advantage of the halal
\ncertificates. Manufacturers do too," Hasan Basri said. Demand of
\nIndomie instant noodle, for example, has doubled since it used
\nthe halal label. He said there were export benefits too.<\/p>\n
Having cut itself from the deliberation team, MUI has decided
\nto continue with what it has been doing; issuing halal
\ncertificates for those who need them and letting consumers make
\nthe choice. For them, halal or nonhalal is God's right. It can
\nonly be controlled by theological and ritual law experts.<\/p>\n
"I agree with MUI. Not every manufacturer is Moslem and has a
\ngood knowledge about halal and nonhalal. MUI has the authority to
\ndo so because it has the experts," said Tini.<\/p>\n
She said the best way to resolve the dispute was to let
\nmanufacturers decide if they need halal certification. If they
\nneed it then let MUI handle it. If they feel they do not need it
\nthey should not be forced, Tini said.<\/p>",
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