Malaysia Proposes ASEAN Halal Council Launch In September 2027 - Ahmad Zahid
By Nik Nurfaqih Nik Wil
JAKARTA, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has proposed the formal establishment and launch of the ASEAN Halal Council in the country in September 2027 as part of efforts to turn the idea of a regional halal council into a functioning institution, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said Malaysia was also prepared to serve as the council’s secretariat, subject to the agreement of ASEAN member states and partners, while proposing Indonesia as its inaugural chair.
“Malaysia and Indonesia first put forward this idea last year. Today, I believe the time has come to move from discussion to institution,” he said in his keynote address at the fifth Halal 20 (H20) Summit here today.
The ASEAN Halal Council was first proposed by Ahmad Zahid during a Malaysia-Indonesia halal industry roundtable and his meeting with Indonesian Vice-President Gibran Rakabuming Raka in Jakarta in April 2025, with both countries subsequently agreeing in May that year to jointly spearhead its formation.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also chairman of the Halal Industry Development Council (MPIH), said the proposal had been submitted to the ASEAN Secretariat and would next be brought to the ASEAN Summit in Manila for endorsement.
He said ASEAN could not wait any longer as the halal economy was expanding rapidly and the market would not wait for the region to organise itself.
“Between now and then, we must put in place the council’s mandate, governance and first deliverables so that it is ready to act from day one,” he said.
He also viewed the ASEAN Halal Council as an important building block towards the proposed World Halal Development Council, with the discussion to be taken further at the Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS) in Kuala Lumpur later this month.
On the wider halal economy, Ahmad Zahid said Muslim consumer spending across six key sectors reached USD2.6 trillion (USD1 = RM4.09) in 2024 and is projected to grow to around USD3.56 trillion by 2029, with halal food alone accounting for more than USD1.5 trillion in spending.
“ASEAN is particularly well positioned to capture this growth. With more than 250 million halal consumers, we already have the scale, industries and capabilities to become a major force in the global halal economy.
“Yet our strengths are not always connected as effectively as they should be. Differences in standards, certification and accreditation continue to create friction, while businesses still face duplication and barriers across markets,” he said.
He added that the question was no longer whether demand existed, but whether the region was connected enough to capture that growth together.
Ahmad Zahid arrived in Jakarta yesterday for a four-day working visit at the invitation of Indonesia’s Halal Product Assurance Organising Agency in conjunction with the summit.
-- BERNAMA
