Abu Janda Inflamed, How Can A 'Desert Lizard' Protest The Very Indonesian Halal Logo Of The Ministry Of Religion

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion's Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH) has released a halal label which is gradually replacing a similar label from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).

Although it has its own philosophy, this new logo cannot be separated from criticism. One of them came from Fadli Zon, a Gerindra Party politician who assessed that the halal writing on the logo should be clearly legible.

Not only that, the calligraphy writing rules used by the Ministry of Religion for the halal logo were also questioned. All over the world, according to Fadli, halal logos with Arabic writing must be clearly visible in green.

Meanwhile, the new logo launched by the Ministry of Religion seems ethnocentric, hiding its halal writing. "The words "Halal" should be clearly legible (informative) and aren't there rules for writing calligraphy?"

"The new logo seems ethnocentric and seems to hide the words "Halal"," said Fadli Zon via a tweet on his official Twitter @fadlizon quoted Monday, March 14.

A different view came from social media activist Permadi Arya alias Abu Janda. According to him, the new logo is very Indonesian because it includes the shape of a puppet.

"The MUI halal stamp is no longer valid, guys, the official halal stamp has been taken over by the Ministry of Religion. The new logo for the Ministry of Religion halal stamp is cool, isn't it? Very Indonesian," said Abu Janda via his blue tick Instagram account, @permadiaktivis2, quoted Monday, March 14.

According to Abu widow, this new logo was suddenly protested by foreign cultural slaves. Abu Janda then alludes to the term 'desert lizard' for those who criticize the logo.

"This cool logo was immediately protested by a group of foreign cultural slaves, the desert lizard Kadrun hates Indonesian culture so much that they don't even accept the logo smelling of wayang. What's good for them?" said Abu Janda.

Head of BPJPH Muhammad Aqil Irham said the logo, which was effective from March 1, 2022, philosophically adapts Indonesian values.

The shapes and patterns used are cultural artifacts that have unique characteristics that have strong characters and represent Indonesian Halal.

"The form of the Indonesian Halal Label consists of two objects, namely the Gunungan shape and the Surjan or Lurik Gunungan motif on the shadow puppets in the shape of a pyramid, pointing upwards. This symbolizes human life," he explained, quoted from the ministry.go.id website, Monday, March 14. .

The shape of the mountains is arranged in such a way as to form Arabic calligraphy consisting of the letters Ha, Lam Alif, and Lam in a series to form the word Halal.

This form illustrates that the higher the knowledge and the older the age, the human must be more conical (golong gilig) to merge soul, taste, creation, intention, and work in life, or get closer to the Creator.

Surjan's motif which is also called piety clothing contains deep philosophical meanings. Among them, the neck of Surjan's shirt has 3 pairs of buttons (6 buttons) all of which describe the pillars of faith. In addition, the surjan/striated motifs that are parallel to each other also have meaning as a clear distinction/delimiter.

This is in line with the aim of implementing Halal Product Guarantee in Indonesia to provide comfort, security, safety, and certainty of the availability of halal products for the public in consuming and using the product," said Aqil Irham.

Aqil Irham added that the Indonesian Halal Label uses purple as the main color of the label and turquoise green as its secondary color. He said the purple color represents the meaning of faith, inner and outer unity, and the power of imagination. While the secondary color is turquoise green, which represents the meaning of wisdom, stability, and serenity.