Airlangga Hartarto: There Is A Job Creation Law, Halal Certificate For MSMEs, Free!

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto. (Photo: Twitter @airlangga_hrt)

JAKARTA - The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the Job Creation Bill which was just passed into law would be of great help to small business actors. One of them is in processing halal certification.

Airlangga said that halal certification for micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM) would be made free in the Job Creation Law. The goal is to speed up the processing and certainty in the halal certification process for small businesses.

"The government's halal certification bears the cost of certification for medium and small businesses. We want to accelerate the halal certification and halal inspection process," he said, in a plenary session, at the DPR Building, Parliament Complex, Monday, October 5.

The former Minister of Industry said that the processing of halal certification will also be expanded. Halal certification examiners can be carried out by Islamic community organizations (ormas) and universities.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chairperson of Commission VIII Ace Hasan Syadzily said that besides being able to protect Muslims from consuming halal products, the Job Creation Law guarantees certainty that halal management procedures are more transparent, timely, and have clear procedures.

Ace said, in this law MUI still plays an active role as the authority in issuing a fatwa on the halalness of a product. For the examination and investigation of a product, the opportunity is given to Islamic organizations that are spread all over Indonesia.

"This is done so that businesses in various parts of Indonesia have easy access to halal certification," he said.

Ace emphasized that the Job Creation Law is very strategic and has great benefits for the business world, especially MSMEs. For halal certification in the Work Creation Bill, there is a partiality for MSMEs whose costs are borne by the government.

According to Ace, this is very encouraging for the business world, especially small and medium enterprises. Apart from that this provides a guarantee for the Muslim community to consume the halal product.

"I am very optimistic that the passing of the Job Creation Bill will guarantee the certainty of halal certification, which has so far found various problems in its implementation. We hope that in the future Indonesia will become the center of the world's halal industry," he said.