25,000 Free Halal Certification Quota Fulfilled, Head Of BPJPH Ministry Of Religion Calls Publishing Waiting For MUI Fatwa

Head of the Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH) of the Ministry of Religion Muhammad Aqil Irham. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion's (Kemenag) Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH) has closed the registration for the Free Halal Certification (SEHATI) program today.

Meanwhile, the provision of halal certificates through the self-declaring mechanism is targeted for 25,000 Micro and Small Business (SME) products.

"Alhamdulillah, the target of 25,000 SEHATI registrants has been met," said Head of BPJPH Muhammad Aqil Irham in Jakarta, Monday, July 18.

Furthermore, said Aqil, the issuance of 25,000 halal certificates is waiting for a halal fatwa from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

Aqil explained that this was in accordance with the halal product guarantee regulation (JPH) which required a halal provision (KH) based on the MUI Fatwa Commission Session prior to the issuance of the certificate.

Aqil said, this also applies to the issuance of halal certificates through the self-declaring mechanism.

According to him, to date, there have been 10,000 registrant data that have been forwarded by BPJPH to the MUI Fatwa Commission.

"We hope that the MUI Fatwa Commission can process it immediately. After the MUI Fatwa Commission issues a Halal Decree (KH) and uploads it to SIHALAL, then BPJPH will issue a Halal Certificate," explained Aqil.

"Hopefully this process will run smoothly so that business actors can immediately obtain a halal certificate," he continued.

Aqil also expressed his gratitude to business actors who wanted to participate in this program.

According to him, the enthusiasm of the community is very high.

"This builds our optimism to continue to expand the halal ecosystem in this country," said Aqil.

The Head of the Center for Halal Registration and Certification of BPJPH Mastuki said the same thing.

Mastuki said that his party appreciates the awareness of business actors.

"Initially, until early June, the number of registrants at SIHALAL was only around 10,000. In fact, this program was planned to close on June 30, 2022," said Mastuki.

However, BPJPH is not discouraged. A series of publications, socialization, and cooperation with a number of parties were carried out.

"Finally, we extended it to July 11. But based on the incoming data, on July 3, 2022, the number of registrants has met the quota. Currently, about 15,000 registrant data that came in recently are being validated and verified, to be forwarded to the MUI Fatwa Commission," he said.