Keywords

1 Introduction

Hygiene and cleanliness are both strongly emphasised values in Islam. These values comprise every aspect of personal hygiene, dress, and the equipment and premises where food is manufactured and processed (Wahab 2004). Halal means ‘permissible’ and ‘lawful’ in Arabic, and halal is commonly understood to entail the ritual slaughter of animals and a prohibition of the consumption of pork (Fischer 2011: 1). According to Baker Ahmad Alserhan (2011: 54), halal ‘indicates a product that is prepared according to the Shariah principles and using Shariah-compliant ingredients and processes’. Moreover, the term tayyibat refers to ‘purity, wholesomeness and lawfulness’ (ibid.). It can also be defined as the goods and services that are syariah-compliant by which the consumption of these commodities will lead to the ethical and spiritual wellbeing of consumers.

Since the 1990s the increasing significance of food preparation and prohibitions in Muslim societies reflect the interplay of Islam, politics and markets (Fischer 2011: 4). In recent years, Brunei Darussalam has taken serious measures towards the certification of food products as halal, and standardisation has been introduced in phases since a speech by the Sultan of Brunei in 1998 on the importance of halal. The significance of the most recent legal framework, the Halal Certificate and Halal Label (Amendment) Order 2017 (HCHLO), is that it emphasises the compulsory participation of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to apply for halal certificates and the use of correct labelling and logos (Brunei Darussalam 2017). This chapter examines the ways in which the regulation and practice of halal in Brunei compares to Malaysia and Singapore. It pays particular attention to implementation and enforcement under the 2017 order. The discussion suggests that halal certification and labelling are not only part of a local food quality and hygiene standardisation process but also a means to compete in the lucrative high-end international halal industry.

2 Methodology and Data Collection

This chapter adopts a broadly qualitative approach to garner respondents’ perceptions and experiences of current halal regulation and practice in Brunei. Respondent data were collected from a range of sites including relevant authorities, professional experts on halal and interviews with owners of MSMEs. I also attended several local halal seminars and roadshows and collected further information from news outlets and government publicity on the HCHLO. Interviews with six MSME respondents were conducted predominantly based on semi-structured interviews. The questions for the MSME respondents focused primarily on their views about the enforcement of the order and the challenges they encountered in complying with the procedures to obtain halal certificates, labels and logos. All the respondents are name-coded with pseudonyms to preserve their anonymity.

3 Halal Certificate and Halal Label (Amendment) Order 2017

The implementation of compulsory halal standardisation on all food and beverage businesses forms part of a development strategy towards Brunei Vision 2035 (Wawasan Brunei 2035) (Izni Azrein 2016: 79). In 2017 the halal certification and labelling provisions targeted MSMEs. The HCHLO announced in May of that year requires all food and beverage business operators—specifically those who produce, supply and serve food—to apply for halal certification. They were given a grace period until November 2017 to comply (Azli 2017). The HCHLO covers all businesses ‘dealing with consumption products … such as restaurants, food factories or home-based food [businesses]’ for Muslim customers (Azaraimy 2017). The halal certification is separated into two categories: the halal permit (label) applies to businesses that manufacture and produce food for supply; and the halal certificate applies to those who prepare and serve food in establishments or premises, hawker stalls and restaurants. The HCHLO also imposes a penalty for failure to comply within the grace period of up to BND8,000 or two years’ imprisonment. The key difference between the HCHLO and the previous Halal Certificate and Halal Label Order 2005 is that the latter introduced voluntary compliance while the former is now compulsory for businesses engaged in the preparation, production and distribution of food. A BND90 fee is charged for the halal certificate which is valid for three years, while the cost for the halal permit was initially BND50 per product. With the amendment, the validity of the permits also changed to only three years while previously they were valid for life so long as no changes were made to the products. Businesses are now required to reapply when the permit expires. In December 2017 an official announcement by the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MORA) revised the charges for halal certification and the halal permit in order to accommodate the size and scale of businesses that manufacture and produce food (Rasidah 2017). The fee charged for certification remains at BND90, while the revised fees structure for permits is shown in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1 Amended halal permit charges according to business scale classification
Full size table

4 Situating Brunei’s Halal Certification Comparatively

Southeast Asia is home to more than 260 million Muslim consumers. Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are at the forefront of halal certification and other countries in the region like Thailand and the Philippines accept their certification (Riaz and Chaudry 2003: 169). According to Florence Bergeaud-Blackler et al. (2016: 9), Brunei’s neighbours, Malaysia and Singapore, are examples of model countries that are leading in the halal market globally, and their governments ‘have become increasingly and explicitly committed to an indirect supervisory role in halal and audit [that] is both a solution to a technical problem as well as a way of redesigning the practice of government’. The certification process involved in halal food and food products requires the implementation of new standards for halal production, preparation, storage and enforcement in keeping up with the demands of a globalised market for halal products. Standards and standardisation cover production, preparation, handling, storage and relevant authorities. It also includes ‘persons with certain qualifications, knowledge or skills’ (ibid.). As such, the process of standardisation involves an interplay between the tenets of Islam, state certification and markets.

The discussion here on standardisation and the involvement of state authorities is drawn from Malaysia and Singapore, two countries leading the rest of Southeast Asia in the global expansion of the halal market. The state in each of these countries is responsible as the halal-certifying authority, meaning that they have largely ‘certified, standardized and bureaucratized halal production, trade and consumption’ (ibid.: 8). To do so, Malaysia and Singapore have passed and implemented certain laws and guidelines for halal food production applicable not only to imported products but also food products manufactured for domestic sale (Riaz and Chaudry 2003: 51). The following sections detail similarities and differences between the current systems in operation in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

4.1 Halal Certification System: Malaysia

In the 1970s global food establishments such as franchised outlets and imported food producers started to become established in Malaysia, exposing Muslim consumers to more options. This led to consumer demands for halal assurances on all the products they consumed. As a result, the Malaysian government enacted laws and established procedures and guidelines with regard to halal food, and applied these to both domestic and imported items. Under the Trade Description Order (Usage of the Term ‘Halal’) 1975, it was an offence for any company to falsely display signs and other labels claiming the food sold was halal. Such enactments were gradually instituted over the next few years, until a general agreement to gazette a proper halal certification scheme was reached. This had been preceded by the Research Centre of the Islamic Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Office issuing halal certification letters from 1974, with the authority to monitor food suppliers, the producers, distributors and importers. The importance of the work of the division was then given recognition in 1997 with the establishment of a new Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia, JAKIM). Under its authority, all halal certificates for meat and poultry must be issued and signed by any Islamic organisation approved by JAKIM. In addition, prior to the importation of all processed food products to Malaysia, the halal certificates for products must first be recognised by JAKIM (ibid.: 52).

As Johan Fischer (2011: 2) points out, JAKIM regulates halal at the interfaces between consumer culture, the institutions of the state and Islamic revivalism. Among the deeper structural reasons for the rapid increase of halal certification were steady economic growth over the past 30 years and the increasing number of Malay Muslim middle-class consumers with higher disposable incomes. Moreover, by having its own certifying bodies Malaysia has unequivocally elevated halal production, trade and consumption (ibid.: 41). The transformation of halal in Malaysia can also be traced back to the Islamic revivalism movement in the late 1970s. The rise of divergent proselytisation (dakwah, literally ‘invitation to salvation’) groups, together with the criticisms of the Islamic opposition party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS), contested the secular foundations of the state and challenged the ruling United Malays National Organisation’s (UMNO) policies that leaned towards secularism (ibid.: 35). The emergence of the Darul Arqam religious sect in the mid-1970s, which was later labelled ‘deviant’, was also seen as a threat to the establishment. Darul Arqam ‘followers … [engaged] in an ascetic’, self-sufficient lifestyle that renounced Western luxuries and modern amenities (ibid.: 34). They cultivated a range of halal food products in several parts of the country. However, since Darul Arqam was regarded as a sectarian organisation, it was banned in 1994 by the National Fatwa Council. The UMNO government then took an alternative way to ‘aggressively [engage] in a reconceptualization of consumption that [envisioned] the amalgamation of Malay ethnicity, consumption practices, and Islam’ to pre-empt these Islamic revivalists (ibid.: 34−35). In other words, the activities of Islamic revivalists provoked the state to ‘nationalise’ Islam. As a consequence, Malaysia has strategically employed halal as ‘a material sign of Islamic credentials and to allay concerns of excessive secularisation. In fact, halal is promoted as bridging the religious and the secular, as an example of the compatibility of the ethnicized state, modern Islam, business, and proper Islamic consumption’ (ibid.: 36).

In establishing its own halal-certifying authority and standardised practices, Malaysia aspired to become a world leader in the expanding global halal market. In accordance with the country’s halal vision, the former prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, claimed that Malaysia aimed to become a global halal hub and so the standard MS 1500:2004 was introduced as ‘an international benchmark for the certification of halal products’ (ibid.: 37). Moreover, Malaysia is portrayed as a model country in having drafted procedures in food processing and the export-import trade, represented in its systemization and standardisation of halal certification (ibid.: 38). At present, there is considerable political will to promote Malaysia as a producer of halal food internationally, and this indicates a major shift towards an expanding global market.

4.2 Halal Certification System: Singapore

As Fischer (2016) and Kamaludeen Mohamed Nasir et al. (2010) both detail, Singapore has also successfully penetrated the global halal market over several decades. Although Singapore’s domestic market for halal products and services is relatively small compared to that of Malaysia, its ambitions were to become a leader in the global halal market. As Fischer (2016: 36) notes, ‘the marketing and regulation of halal in Singapore is to a large extent [driven] … by transformations in the global market for halal that took place from the 1990s onwards’. Like Malaysia, Singapore passed specific laws and established halal guidelines and agencies to certify halal products. Halal services are usually organised by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, MUIS) which was established in 1968 (Faizah n.d.). Issuing its first halal certificate in 1978, MUIS is the sole authoritative body in Singapore in monitoring imported meat (including poultry) and meat products whose halal certification it must approve.

Other than ensuring that imported products are halal-certified, MUIS is involved in facilitating the halal food trade through other activities such as certifying local exporters prior to exportation of their products to the global halal market. MUIS is also entitled to certify local establishments as well as participating in forums on the standardisation of halal certification (Fischer 2016: 175). MUIS’s role was enhanced in 1999 when the Singapore parliament passed an amendment to the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA). Through this amendment, MUIS was given sole authority to regulate, promote and enhance the halal business: ‘to administer matters relating to the Muslim religion and Muslims in Singapore including any matter relating to the Haj or halal certification’ (Singapore 1999). There are a number of government agencies liaising with MUIS in halal enforcement, most notably the Singapore Food Agency in the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. In 2009 a further amendment to the AMLA was passed with specific reference to halal certification in which the false display of halal logos or fake MUIS logos is considered a violation of the law (Fischer 2016: 180). Under Section 88A (1) of the AMLA, for example, any person who misuses the halal certificate or falsely displays halal certification without being approved by MUIS is guilty of an offence that carries a significant fine of up to SGD10,000 or one year’s imprisonment (Kamaludeen et al. 2010).

Despite Muslims constituting a relatively small minority in Singapore, state regulation through the authority of MUIS to ensure the ‘halalness’ of particular food is efficient with a high degree of compliance. As Fischer (2016: 190) notes, halal training plays a crucial role as it helps embed awareness, understanding and knowledge of standards and standardisation in halal practices.

5 Halal in Brunei

5.1 Halal Food Control Division

In Brunei, the Halal Food Control Division (Bahagian Kawalan Makanan Halal, BKMH) is one of the units under the Syariah Affairs Department of MORA. Its role is to control and handle the oversight of halal food products in the country, including for restaurants, the food and beverage industry, food stalls and other similar establishments. This includes products intended for the local market, imports and exports that want to use the official halal logo of the Islamic Religious Council of Brunei (Majlis Ugama Islam Brunei, MUIB).

The BKMH was established in response to a speech by the Sultan of Brunei in 1997 in which he stressed the importance of halal and instructed relevant governmental bodies to take action (Prime Minister’s Office 1997). Initially, the BKMH was primarily concerned with meat regulation under the enactment of the Halal Meat (Chapter 183) law of 1998 (Brunei 2014). The promotion of halal led to the Halal Certificate and Halal Label Order 2005 but it took almost three years to complete the standard guidelines with the first audit operation in 2008 (Brunei Darussalam 2005). Halal-related matters in terms of preparation, food handling and site auditing are carried out solely by the BKMH except if relevant officers from other departments are needed for audit efficacy purposes. For instance, members from the Department of Agriculture and Agrifood can be called to join the audit if it involves inspecting premises involved in food production. If the audit is of pharmaceutical products or cosmetics, both the BKMH and the Pharmacy Section from the Ministry of Health will be involved.

5.2 Piawai Brunei Darussalam

National standards are covered by the Brunei Darussalam Standard (Piawai Brunei Darussalam, PBD) (on the Brunei Standard, see Ministry of Finance and Economy n.d.). This aims to provide comprehensive national guidelines in areas such as performance, service, systems, processes and products. The national standard on halal food—PBD 24:2007—is the general guideline or manual for halal food, that is, what is permitted under the authority of MUIB (MUIB 2007a). The standard covers general guidelines on the production, preparation, handling, distribution and storage of halal food, and makes clear that in its preparation references were made to a range of other national and regional best practices, including: the Halal Certificate and Halal Label Order 2005, Malaysian Standard MS 1500:2004 on halal food, the State Mufti’s fatwa of Brunei Darussalam, the Halal Meat Act, the ASEAN General Guidelines on the Preparation and the Handling of Halal Food, and the Guidelines on the Control of Muslim Consumption Goods and Foods, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore.

The PBD 24:2007 manual provides mostly practical guidelines for the food industry on the preparation and handling of halal food and also some essential definitions. The standards are used in conjunction with the laws of Islam (hukum syara’) and mazhab Shafiʽi (Shafiʽi jurisprudence) implemented in Brunei and any other relevant standards and guidelines recognised and passed by the then Energy and Industry Department of the Prime Minister’s Office.Footnote 1 Under PBD 24:2007, halal food is defined as that which is fit for human consumption and permitted by law. The necessary conditions to follow include:

  1. (a)

    the food or its ingredients that do not contain any parts or products of animals that are non-halal to Muslims according to Hukum Syara’ or products of animals which are not slaughtered according to Hukum Syara’;

  2. (b)

    the food does not contain any ingredients that are najis [polluted] according to Hukum Syara’;

  3. (c)

    the food that is safe and not harmful;

  4. (d)

    the food that is not prepared, processed or manufactured using equipment that is contaminated with things that are najis according to Hukum Syara’. (ibid.: 7)

The manual emphasises the importance of hygiene, sanitation, sanitisation and food safety in preparing halal food, while inspectors to oversee compliance are appointed by MORA. Much of the content of PBD 24:2007 is fairly similar to that of Malaysia’s standard inscribed in MS 1500:2004. Having said that, respondents indicated that although PBD 24:2007 may function as the national standard for Brunei, the Guideline for Halal Certification (BCG 1) and Guideline for Halal Compliance Audit (BCG 2) are the most accurate standards for the BKMH to follow (MUIB 2007b).Footnote 2 These documents specify precise guidelines on the proper procedure and conduct of audits along with the preparation requirements for all applicants. PBD 24:2007 is more applicable to food factories and industrial production, whereas food establishments such as food premises and restaurants largely come under the auspices of both BCG 1 and BCG 2.

6 Impacts of Halal Certification on the Food and Beverage Industry

6.1 The Respondents

There are limited studies on the effects of halal food standards implementation for the food and beverage industry in Brunei (Izni Azrein 2016). This section examines the impact of the HCHLO in particular by drawing on interview data from a range of respondents who work in the industry. Diana’s company was among the first companies to be officially certified as halal in 2008. She has established six restaurants and her food production includes both packaged products and specialist traditional crackers. Diana had experience of applying for both the halal permit and halal label. Anita is an employee of the Brunei Halal Foods brand of Ghanim International Corporation and a forerunner of the halal food industry in Brunei. The brand was established in 2009 with the aim of becoming the platform for the development of local MSMEs and providing market access support internationally. Kevin is a local Chinese business operator selling ice cream in the Brunei-Muara district. He runs a showroom at a local hypermarket. The business manufactures ice cream products at their kitchen near their showroom in Gadong. Rose is a home-based online seller who supplies desserts and cakes to shops. She applied for both the halal logo and halal certification in 2017. Alique works for a government agency during the week and operates a stall on weekends to generate extra income. He had not yet applied for halal certification.

6.2 Halal Certification and the Halal Logo

According to Diana, although halal certification and the halal logo are new, the process associated with them has been gradually developing over the past 10 years. She expressed support for both initiatives in that they prioritise cleanliness and hygiene regulation for food handling and preparation. For Diana, food-related businesses have been expanding in Brunei, and this has raised concerns over hygiene and cleanliness and the responsibilities of vendors. She noted that halal certification would help reduce doubts among consumers. She explained that the function of certification is similar to barcode verification, in which products from overseas can be traced to the manufacturer.

Anita agreed that the production of halal food by vendors at the moment is fairly open and unrestricted. The HCHLO is the first phase in regulating the food industry. Its aim is to facilitate its development and not to burden people. According to her, this is necessary because the value of the Brunei Halal Foods brand is reliant on its ability to ensure the trustworthiness of the process. Nonetheless, Anita was aware that enforcement does present challenges:

I do think it is a good idea. However, of course as usual the government has limited resources. So sometimes when it is implemented, it is not implemented in phases, they just directly announce and expect people to comply immediately. But so far, I heard, people were initially unclear about what this means for their business. But I think now in the past few months that MORA has done a little bit more of communication in terms of what this means for their businesses. It has got a lot clearer. For us, as food manufacturers, we always have to follow the standards, the process of having our products certified within 45 days and the fact that we have to follow. So, it’s not been a problem but it’s not also a problem for our MSMEs, because we work with a lot of MSMEs where we take a lot of their products.

Anita also noted that many local MSMEs were not ready to expand overseas, and Brunei food industries were still largely reliant on imports.

6.3 What is Halal? Between Practice and Certification

For BKMH officers, halal in Brunei encompasses the notion of halalan thayyiban, which encapsulates what is permissible, good and hygienic in food products. Halal, accordingly to Alique, involves ritual slaughter of products like poulty and meat and it is easily identified from the label and logo commonly on display in local shops. Alique and his wife sell traditional delicacies and asserted that everything they sell is entirely halal starting from the raw ingredients and meat used in cooking and preparing the food. Alique claimed to only purchase necessary items for food and consumption in local shops unlike other vendors who might use items smuggled across the border from Limbang or Miri in Sarawak. Although there are significant price differences between the two, Alique insisted that it is his responsibility to provide customers with the same halal food he consumes. He prefers to purchase things from local markets as he trusts the control of halal in Brunei:

Since our business is entirely based on halal, we do not buy things from outside. Besides, the question on the halalness of the things we buy from outside is doubted. We buy things locally, and we keep the receipts of our purchases in case there is a sudden inspection. If so, we can justify to the inspectors where we get our things from, they are from local stores. But there are some among the same vendors like us who would just go for easy option. I don’t want to be nosy and it’s their business, but some would actually just sneak them here. Yes, I do acknowledge the price is cheaper there compared to the local markets. Well, you’re lucky if you don’t get caught, otherwise you’ll be fined. So rather than risking fines, the efficient way is just to buy things here where the halalness and cleanliness are guaranteed.

Similar to Alique, Kevin expressed that applying for halal certification is not only about the ritual slaughter of products, but also concerns hygiene and cleanliness of the premises as denoted under halalan thayyiban.

Somewhat differently, for Rose, halal is not only about hygiene but the processing and production of halal food entirely by Muslims. She cited several cafes that display halal certification but their cooks are non-Muslims. She maintained that this makes people question whether halalness is linked exclusively to certification or actual ethical practices. From Rose’s perspective, if food is produced by Muslims, it is halal even though it is not officially certified. Having said that, for Rose halal is well regulated in Brunei. The authorities encourage people to sell food that is halal and maintain the quality and hygiene of consumer products.

6.4 Limitations of Halal Certification

As Diana noted, prior to the announcement of the new pricing structure for halal certification, she had only paid BND50 per product. She thought the new pricing scheme is costly because food sellers still need to renew their certificate once every three years. According to Diana:

This is what I face at the moment, the ingredients we had applied previously had already been approved, and imagine after three years they inform you that ‘we have to reject this ingredient because it’s not approved’ and it’s a bit of a hassle for us because we have to find the ingredient to replace the declined one, and of course it’s a bit tedious work and time-consuming. Why do I say so? Because for us business operators, we have to entertain the government agencies, yet some of the procedures need to be improved because we have to go to the stores again and do several investigations on our own.

Diana supported the introduction of more stringent requirements in halal certification, but she had some reservations regarding the government’s aim of encouraging business start-ups through the ‘ease of doing business’ initiative:

Ease of doing business means not really too much of leniency but you can give-and-take. Don’t be like ‘die die you must do it, die die you have to change’. Same goes for halal certification. Well, for me it’s good, but it’s supposed to be more friendly and easy for users. We can apply for it online so that we don’t have to go here and there to apply, we can just check in the system, and the payment procedure too. The payment procedure for me is very ridiculous, once you get a call to receive the letter that your application is approved, you are told to come to the old building to get the letter and go upstairs and make payment and … for me it’s just not convenient for senior citizens, they would complain. Why don’t they just make it easy to do payment via online? Moreover, if they are planning to upgrade the system, just make sure the server is not slow.

Kevin also expressed concerns about the way new certification requirements will pose considerable difficulties for those involved in micro businesses such as hawkers:

My opinion is, I mean it’s good for the people so we don’t have to worry and it’s just that I thought the process could have been done a little more efficiently and helpful. For our products, I’m not worried, because we go and do it and we apply for it. We adhere to what is advised and required and even did the amendments that are necessitated. But other thing on my mind, although it is none of my business, but I worry about those hawkers in Brunei, how are they going to survive? Just look at the night market [pasar malam]. You can’t possibly ask them to list down all the ingredients. To ask them to apply, yes they can when someone is doing it for them and that means money, right? So I mean, to us it’s not inconvenient, because we want our products to be halal certified so we went to do it, but for them they might have this mindset ‘I’m already a Muslim, I know what I buy is definitely halal so what we prepare is indeed halal, so why do you want me to apply for the halal cert?’

The use of a halal certification logo that identifies the country of origin of the product is welcomed throughout the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. However, having been in the business both locally and internationally, Diana mentioned that the Brunei halal logo has not yet achieved the same level of international ‘brand’ recognition as other more well-established logos (Fig. 3.1).

Fig. 3.1
The Brunei halal logo.

Brunei’s halal logo. Source World Halal Authority (www.wha-halal.org/de/)

Full size image

For Diana, it would be a real achievement if Brunei were able to penetrate overseas markets, but brand recognition of the Brunei halal logo remains limited:

Our Brunei halal logo is not well known unfortunately. If you bring our Brunei halal logo to the European market, they won’t be able to recognise it, but if you bring our Brunei halal logo to Indonesia and Malaysia, they would definitely know that the marking indicates Brunei. So for me, the halal logo in Brunei is still lacking in comprehensive awareness. The government authority should develop awareness to the global [market], not only Asia or throughout the region of BIMP-EAGA [Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area] because I could say Brunei is already strong in the archipelago region area. We should cater the Muslims outside and let the taste of Asia be known outside our region when, in fact, Brunei is among the first countries to regulate halal in the ASEAN region.

Diana was nonetheless more positive that Brunei would actually stand to gain a lot if its halal logo and products were brought to the international market. She highlighted a lack of awareness and the practice of international markets to place more emphasis on Good Manufacturing Practice certification and the Halal Compliance Critical Control Point analyses.

For Anita, the halal standard of Brunei is quite strong, but she also recounted an example of when Ghanim International tried to penetrate Middle Eastern markets where they thought the Brunei halal logo would have traction. When they promoted the Brunei Halal Foods brand, problems arose in dealing with the rules and regulations of particular countries. Anita noted:

Some countries do not accept our company’s brand because it has not been registered, for example, so those are the impediments that we find in terms of market access. For example, in Dubai, it took us one year to penetrate into the Middle East because of all the regulations for the recognition of Brunei Halal Foods brands officially into their system. It’s not there yet. So, like what Malaysia did or JAKIM, they are very aggressive in terms of the registration of their logo’s recognition. So we haven’t done that yet, so we feedback this to the government agencies because we are backed by government, and we are a government company anyway, and now they are taking note on where are the target markets for Brunei, not just Ghanim itself, but the whole of Brunei. So they are looking at the registration process into these countries for recognition so that companies who wanted to go and trade, it makes it easy for them to trade—it’s all about money. Our halal is accepted, it’s just the recognition is not there yet, the official recognition. Our halal brand, the Korean and Chinese are interested with our halal brand because they know our halal is trustworthy, and it gives them peace of mind so they don’t mind paying millions for it. That is the value of our halal actually.

According to Anita, halal certification in Brunei was previously not particularly profit oriented. However, she believed that the authorities are paying more attention to the halal market as a lucrative investment:

Comparing our halal certification in Brunei and the process to other countries, I would love to say our country doesn’t take ours seriously. Because for us we don’t have commercial interest towards it. So in a way it gives you as a Muslim a peace of mind, that what I eat is safe for my consumption. Whereas for other countries, there is an urgency to grow so in a way leniency is there. Malaysia has a different way of approaching it; they understand business. But in Brunei, our government to be honest has just begun learning how to understand business. How to understand the difficulties that businesses faced, and only now are we having dialogues on business. Formerly we didn’t.

7 Halalan Thayyiban: A Question of Quality and Hygiene

And eat of what Allah has provided for you [which is] lawful and good. And fear Allah, in whom you are believers. [Qur’an, Al-Māʾidah 5:88]

O mankind, eat from whatever is on earth [that is] lawful and good. [Qur’an, Al-Baqarah 2:168]

During the Second International Seminar on Halalan Thayyiban Products and Services in 2017 (SAPPHAT II), co-organised by the then Energy and Industry Department at the Prime Minister’s Office and concurrently held with the annual Brunei Halal Showcase (BruHAS) at Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali, one of the invited keynote speakers stated that halal must go hand in hand with tayyib (Prime Minister’s Office 2017). He defined halalan thayyiban as pure and good, respectively, and said that these two aspects are inseparable in achieving a general standard or system for halal products. As Bergeaud-Blackler et al. (2016) note on standards and standardisation, the terms are associated with several meanings, including the qualities of products comprising production, preparation, handling, storage of halal and the authorities involved. In this sense, halalan thayyiban is about ensuring high-quality products for the halal market. Respondents from the BKMH viewed halalan thayyiban as generally relevant and applicable to Brunei. Several officers highlighted the BKMH’s initiatives to exclude certain items that are passed and certified as halal by JAKIM but not by the BKMH. Some commodities may be considered halal but remain unhygienic as clearly indicated in PBD 24:2007, which emphasises hygiene, sanitation and food safety. According to the respondent Rose, halalan thayyiban is relevant to vendors. She claimed that ‘halal is more to hygiene terms’, especially in handling food. She believed that cleanliness comes first in terms of food preparation. Once the halal certificate and halal logo are approved, continual surveillance audits of the applicants’ premises will also be carried out at regular intervals. In short, the halal certificate and halal logo are part of standards and standardisation, while halalan thayyiban acts as a medium for the halal quality required in the market.

8 Conclusion

Although halal is not new in the Bruneian context, the emergence of an officially regulated halal industry is a fairly recent development supported by the government’s compulsory halal certification and halal logo or permit scheme where halal quality is demanded. Data findings reveal that religion, state involvement and markets are closely interlinked in understanding the emergence of halal certification in Brunei. As this chapter highlights, halal is now viewed as a profitable investment. Brunei has begun to follow Malaysia and Singapore into the multibillion dollar global halal industry and compete with other Muslim and non-Muslim countries for a market share of this lucrative industry. Enforcement of the halal certification and halal logo scheme not only serves as a means for Brunei to tap into the global halal market, but it has also ‘provided a systematic way of strengthening food security and safety’ (Bergeaud-Blackler 2016: 107). Although implementation has not been without challenges for local vendors, Brunei’s adherence to and incorporation of halalan thayyiban into its standards and guidelines are allowing the country and its businesses to carve a niche market position as a purveyor of high-end quality products.