Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – As of October 2024, the government will begin requiring Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to have halal certificates for their food/drink products.

Responding to this, General Chair of the Indonesian IUMKM Association (AKUMANDIRI) Hermawati Setyorinny said that the halal certification policy for MSMEs, especially for street vendors (PKL), was not completely appropriate and seemed rushed. This is because these regulations are not yet fully known to micro business actors, especially street vendors who are targeted by the government.

“This is due to a lack of socialization from the government regarding micro business actors such as street vendors. So in my opinion this policy is not completely appropriate for street vendors. It is too hasty, not all street vendors can accept this policy,” said Hermawati to CNBC Indonesia , Monday (13/5/2024).

He said that MSME actors, including street vendors, had not received information about the procedural requirements, as well as the benefits obtained from the halal certification obligation.

“In addition, there are costs that must be incurred, bearing in mind that certain costs are required referring to the business classification to obtain a halal certificate from the government. For example, for the costs of applying for a halal certificate set by the government for micro businesses, this budget does not include costs for inspection and/or testing of product halalness, transportation , and accommodation and laboratory testing if necessary,” he explained.

According to him, if the government is not careful and wise, the halal certification obligation will actually become a burden for them and make traders reluctant to register halal certificates for the products they sell.

Furthermore, Hermawati revealed that up to now the number of MSMEs who have registered for halal certification is still below 30%. He said there were obstacles in the registration process, namely legal requirements such as a Business Identification Number (NIB) which MSMEs do not yet have, as well as other requirements.

“The percentage of MSME players who register for new halal certification is below 30%, the problem is because they don't have legal requirements such as NIB and so on,” he said.

Meanwhile, General Chair of the Association of Indonesian Tofu and Tempeh Producer Cooperatives (GAKOPTINDO), Aip Syaifuddin, said that the halal certification regulations were quite strange and seemed far-fetched. However, he said, in principle tempeh and tofu craftsmen do not mind if they are required to produce a halal certificate.

“In principle, we don't mind (and/or) don't mind, we just think this is a bit funny, strange and too far-fetched. Why? Those are the ingredients for making tempeh and tofu from plants, nuts, and that “talking about halal and haram has always applied to animals, or food that comes from animals,” said Aip.

Aip said that his party had no problem if halal certification was required. It's just that, he said, craftsmen are not used to making neat and structured administrative reports, because they are only Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

“Their administration is still not good, so there needs to be guidance from the government, the form of a halal certificate is what the government asks for,” he said.

Aip emphasized that his party did not reject it, but still questioned why tempeh and tofu producers also had to carry out halal certification for their food products, where it is known that the ingredients used to make tempeh and tofu are not of animal origin.

Apart from that, Aip assesses that socialization and information from the government regarding the procedures for making halal certification is still unclear and touches MSME actors. The reason is, currently there are still many MSME players who are confused about where to apply for a halal certificate.

“Regarding this halal certificate, what are the requirements, it is still not clear where to go, and how many days it will be finished, we are not yet clear. We are still asking questions, the government has not yet issued detailed regulations or details, that's why we said 'yes, okay, we make (the halal certificate) as soon as it comes out (details are clear)' But in principle we are fine if we have to make this,” he concluded.

[Gambas:Video CNBC]

(wur)