Image: Rector of Unissula, Ir. Prabowo Setiyawan, M.T., Ph.D. (left) and Prof. Ir. Sukoso, M.Sc., Ph.D., Head of Halal Product Guarantee Agency, showed a memorandum of understanding recently signed by both parties at Kaligawe campus.

Unissula held halal certification seminar and workshop in the service sector in the industrial era 4.0 along with a policy of opportunities and challenges that were held at Kaligawe campus KM 4 Semarang (2/3/2019).

The Keynote Speaker, Prof. Ir Sukoso, M.Sc., Ph.D, Head of the Indonesian Halal Product Assurance Agency, stated that the majority of Indonesia’s population is Muslim but most of them do not understand the importance of halal standards for products or services.

“The majority of Indonesia’s population is Muslim but most of them still do not understand or underestimate the halal or prohibition of products or services. This is proven by the fact that when I had a number of dialogues with the Micro and Small Medium Enterprises, they stated that it was impossible they did not believe in the halal nature of the products that they sold. It was because they, the sellers wore veil. This is just one of examples of how people don’t comprehend standards of halal product and service,” said Sukoso.

He also told how Indonesia lost to Brazil at the WTO about this halal standard. “If we play football against Brazil and lose, it’s normal. In this case, we lose from Brazil in terms of halal product standards such as slaughtering chickens, so this is very ironic. When they are so signed a contract about halal products, especially chickens, they actually check into the abattoir to compare how the Indonesian people slaughter chickens in the market. They observed that the people who slaughter the chickens were praying beforehand. Then, the knives used are also very sharp, but the slaughtered chickens are directly thrown into hot water. It is possible that the chickens died not because of slaughter but because of hot water,” said the professor of Brawijaya University.

He added that at this time, there is an extraordinary phenomenon about the importance of halal product standards. “Currently, for example, the highest demand for certification of halal products actually comes from non-Muslim countries. For example, there are currently over 200 products that are certified halal in South Korea. In this industrial era 4.0, if we are not well prepared, we will be rolled up even by things that are actually very simple, such as the halal label. Just imagine if there are two products that are the same. One that comes from domestics but is not halal certified while the other product is a foreign product that is almost the same and halal certified. Approximately, which one will domestic Muslim consumers choose? Of course, the halal certified one. That is the importance of halal certification especially, in the era of free trade today. Alhamdulillah, starting from 2019, the law on halal products will be immediately implemented so that it can protect Indonesian consumers from non-halal products and services,” said Sukoso.