Persis Halal Inspection Body Accelerates Certification for MSMEs
BANDUNG — The Halal Inspection Body (LPH) of the Persatuan Islam (Persis) Central Executive Board is accelerating mandatory halal certification for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), particularly those affiliated with the Persis Entrepreneurs Association. It is aiming to issue hundreds of halal certificates a month.
“In the first year, we issued only 107 halal certificates. God willing, with more auditors, our human resources will be increased,” Persis Central Executive Board Chairman KH Jeje Zaenudin said at the Persis Halal Forum at the board’s office on Jalan Perintis Kemerdekaan, Bandung, on Sunday (18 October 2026).
He said the attendance of Ahmad Haikal Hasan, head of the Halal Product Assurance Organising Agency (BPJPH), was intended to raise awareness of the Persis inspection body, which has been operating for a year. The meeting also marked the body’s promotion to the top LPH tier.
Jeje said the forum was also aimed at accelerating halal certification and educating consumers and business operators. Consumers should feel confident about the products they use, while businesses need to understand the certification process so they do not feel that licensing is being made unnecessarily difficult. A simpler process, he said, was important to keep businesses running smoothly.
“It will actually build trust and open up a wider market,” Jeje said.
He said West Java’s halal ecosystem was highly diverse, encompassing food, culinary products, consumer goods, clothing and equipment. This variety requires ongoing support with certification.
BPJPH had previously commented on the postponement until 2028 of mandatory halal certification for several categories. The agency stressed that adjusting the deadline would not affect its efforts to make halal certification mandatory across all sectors.
“Persis has made a good point. I’ll repeat what Kang Jeje, my kiai, said: whether or not there is a regulation, and whether a deadline is brought forward or pushed back, halal remains an obligation for Muslims. So our performance will not be determined by whether the deadline moves forward or back,” BPJPH head Ahmad Haikal Hasan said on the sidelines of the forum in Bandung on Sunday.
He said BPJPH would ensure its performance did not decline, so that people could feel secure and comfortable using products and consuming halal food. Haikal, widely known as Babe Haikal, said halal status was the right of all Muslims and members of the public.
“This meeting has strengthened our confidence that the postponement must not cause our performance to fall,” Haikal said.