Govt criticized for not involving MUI in 'halal' labeling plan

By Sri Wahyuni

JAKARTA (JP): The government is expected to announce a decree on food product labeling this month but it is deplorable that such a long-awaited decree is likely to be issued without the involvement of the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI).

The draft of the decree has been submitted to the State Secretariat Office, but the council's delegate had walked out during a brainstorming session with the deliberation team.

"There is something MUI will never agree with," said MUI delegate Aisjah Girindra, who is also Director of MUI's Food, Drug and Cosmetics Research Institute.

The deliberation team, which discussed the draft last month, comprised delegates from the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Religion, Ministry of Food, Ministry of Trade and Industry, the manufacturing sector and MUI.

Girindra found an unacceptable clause in the draft which permitted manufacturers to put halal (permissible according to Islamic teachings) labels on products without the council's research institute evaluating the products.

Up to now, halal recognition has always been given by MUI. Girindra said the research institution conducted a thorough examination through office and field research. The findings were then presented to MUI's Fatwa (religious decree) Commission which decided whether products were halal.

"The fatwa issuance is based on the result of the commission's decision, whose members comprise ulemas qualified in theology and ritual law and in providing responsible social perspectives," MUI Chairman K.H. Hasan Basri said.

That's why MUI's halal certificates are always signed by three parties: MUI's Research Institute Director, MUI's Fatwa Commission Chairman, and MUI's Chairman.

"Products having halal certificates are guaranteed by MUI," said Girindra, a Bogor Institute of Agriculture biochemistry professor. Therefore letting manufacturers put halal labels on their products is "truly a real disaster for Moslems", she said.

The issue became one of the hottest media topics in 1996 after the government announced its would issue a decree on it and a new Food Law. The controversy focused on whether halal labels should be part of product labels or put on separately.

The controversy intensified when the government was said to have appointed private firm PT Daya Bangun Persada to produce halal stickers. Daya would be allowed to collect Rp 10 for each label issued.

Objections came from many parties including the Indonesian Consumers Organization (YLKI). YLKI chairwoman Tini Hadad said such a fee would increase the price of products.

Although senior government officials, including President Soeharto, appealed for prices not to be raised, Tini was uncertain the appeals would be heeded.

This is understandable. Take the case of PT Indofood Sukses Makmur which makes 7.2 billion packages of instant noodles annually. Can you imagine how much it would have to spend to pay for the halal stickers?

"I don't think there would be any manufacturer in the world willing to accept such a consequence all alone. As far as I know, all manufacturers are reluctant to allocate additional funds," Tini said.

Therefore, it is consumers who will bear the brunt of such an unnecessary cost, she said.

The public debate did force the government to postpone the realization of the halal labeling plan until the governmental decree becomes law.

The halal label controversy started when a tripartite joint agreement was signed by the Minister of Religious Affairs, the Minister of Health and the Chairman of the Indonesian Ulemas Council in June 1996. The so called "Charter of Cooperation" showed the importance of halal labeling on products including beverages, drugs, and cosmetics.

Minister of Health Sujudi made it even clearer through a ministerial decree in August stating that labeling would be the Ministry of Health's responsibility. So halal labels would be issued by the Ministry of Health -- in this case the Directorate General of Food and Drugs -- only if fatwa decrees were issued.

"If MUI says 'halal', then the Ministry of Health will say 'halal'. If not, we won't say so," Sujudi said at the time.

Thus "only those with MUI's halal certificates would be allowed to submit proposals for halal labels to the Ministry of Health," Girindra said.

He said what happened at the deliberation of the draft of the government decree was not in line with what was previously agreed.

"It's quite possible that such a policy could cause another uproar, like the pork oil issue years ago," Girindra said.

The issue was sparked by a university campus bulletin in January 1988 about food allegedly contaminated by non-halal elements like pork oil along with a list of 34 nonhalal food and drinks. The report was done by the Students' Senate of Animal Husbandry Faculty of Brawijaya University, Malang, East Java. It was based on research done by Tri Susanto, a lecturer at the university.

The list later expanded into 63 products creating a public uproar. People were afraid to buy products like Supermie and Indomie, beverages -- including various brands of milk products -- and even cosmetic and health products like soap and toothpaste.

Sales of food, beverages and cosmetic declined sharply. Huge stocks piled up in stores. Production of major food brands nose dived. Sales of ABC ketchup, for instance, dropped 40 to 50 percent.

The incident inspired MUI to set up a research institute in 1989 whose main task was to evaluate whether a products were halal.

Since then, thousands of food, beverages and cosmetic products have been given halal certificates.

"Not only Moslem consumers take the advantage of the halal certificates. Manufacturers do too," Hasan Basri said. Demand of Indomie instant noodle, for example, has doubled since it used the halal label. He said there were export benefits too.

Having cut itself from the deliberation team, MUI has decided to continue with what it has been doing; issuing halal certificates for those who need them and letting consumers make the choice. For them, halal or nonhalal is God's right. It can only be controlled by theological and ritual law experts.

"I agree with MUI. Not every manufacturer is Moslem and has a good knowledge about halal and nonhalal. MUI has the authority to do so because it has the experts," said Tini.

She said the best way to resolve the dispute was to let manufacturers decide if they need halal certification. If they need it then let MUI handle it. If they feel they do not need it they should not be forced, Tini said.