Ministry of Religious Affairs pushes for integrated halal product socialisation on campus

Sumedang, West Java — The Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) of the Republic of Indonesia is pushing for accelerated integrated socialisation on halal products within the higher education environment as an effort to build awareness from an early age among students. Director-General of Guidance for Islamic Community Affairs of Kemenag, Abu Rokhmad, in a statement from Sumedang on Thursday, said awareness of the importance of halal should not be considered late. “It is true that we are late (in this awareness), but there is no term ‘late’ in matters like this,” he said. He explained that Indonesian society, which is predominantly Muslim, often feels secure because it is underpinned by a presumption of good faith towards business operators. He added that when buying food at a warung or around student housing, few people question whether the slaughter process meets halal standards. “We never ask at the warung whether the chicken slaughtered has halal standards or not,” he said. According to him, awareness of halal products often arises in areas with a non-Muslim majority. “We only realise its importance when we travel to Bali. We look for food whose halal status is least questionable,” he said. In agreement with that, the head of the West Java regional office of Kemenag, Dudu Rohman, emphasised that integration with campuses is part of systematic socialisation. “In other words, this is part of socialisation. Every item that enters, including food, must be halal-certified and must be informed to students, the public, and the media,” he said. He added that student involvement is important so that they understand that the halal status of products consumed by the public must be clear. “Products that can be eaten and bought by the public must have information about halal status,” he said. Through campus integration, the Ministry of Religious Affairs hopes halal awareness will not only arise in certain circumstances, but become part of the everyday consumer culture.