The Johor Halal Food Industrial Park (JOHAF) is the first Halal food industrial project initiated by the private sector in the state. Although aimed at promoting world-class Halal food products, JOHAF will also house other complementary activities such as trading, packaging, research and development.
The project is owned by Bertam Alliance Berhad, a second board company on the Malaysia Stock Exchange, and developed by UH Capital Sdn Bhd.
“The government is promoting the food industry so we thought we should seize the opportunity to develop a food park. Then we took a step further and decided it should be a strictly Halal food park,” says Ng Sing Hwa, Executive Chairman of Bertam Alliance.
“There are currently no polluting industries surrounding the JOHAF site and we have asked that the state to disallow polluting factories to be developed in the area, for example factories producing toxic waste or even non-Halal products” he added.
“We are committed to keeping any kind of non-Halal production out of the JOHAF compound”.
Effort are being made to set up in-house inspection units by Malaysia’s Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM) to ensure legitimacy of the Halal products. JOHAF also intends to assist in application for Halal certifications and accreditations of MS1500:2004, manufacturing license, HACCP certification and fast track approval for building plans certification.
The 282 acres development is Mukim Serom in Muar, Johor and is designed as a gated industrial community with a proposed centralised security system. This is to ensure the security of Halal food production and consumer confidence. The landscape of the food park will also be designed to reflect the hygiene stressed in the Islamic dietary law.
The Halal Attraction
Elvin Ng, consultant to the JOHAF development project, believes that the park will attract existing food manufacturers to specialise in Halal food production. This is because ownership of Halal food production is not exclusive to Muslims. Non-Muslims are free to own Halal food companies as long as they comply with the Halal procedures.
“We are planning to get local Muslim assistance to train non-Muslim food manufacturers and their employees in Halal procedures and management. This is to ensure that the strictly Halal nature of production is not jeopardised,” Ng said.
“The training will only be a one-off programme. Once the manufacturers know the proper procedures, it will become the norm of their production”.
As President of the Muar Small & Medium Industry Association, Ng’s goal is to make an industry of the existing “backyard food businesses”, as he did with the then small furniture manufacturers in Johor. “If we can pioneer Malaysia’s furniture industry, why not food? That is my goal for the Johor food business now”.
Ng has thus advised Bertam Alliance to sell JOHAF lots at a lower price to attract smaller food businesses.
Halal food production is also an alternative for those who want to diversify their existing businesses. Response in Muar indicates that many from other industries are considering a venture in Halal food.
Project Developments
Ng said the Johor State Investment Centre (JSIC) has agreed to assist the developers in getting foreign direct investments. Sixty percent of the first phase of development has already been sold since its launch March this year. These are food manufacturing companies producing drinks, honey, pastries and cookies. The JOHAF developers are looking forward to include meat producers as part of their clientele.
They are also looking into working with the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development to get existing Muslim meat and food producers to operate at the park. This is also a good way to encourage Muslim participation in the Malaysian food producing industry that is currently mostly owned by non-Muslims.
The park is strategically located half an hour away from the Segamat Inland Port. It is also just off the North South Highway that leads to the Klang, Tanjung Pelepas and Pasir Gudang ports, as well as to Singapore.
Lot prices are selling between RM10 and RM13 per square feet. There are 89 industrial lots, 74 semi-detached factories and 48 terrace factories currently for sale. Construction is expected to begin early in 2006 and businesses should be able to operate by the end of the year.
The state of Johor may be home to yet another “backyard business” turned industrial.
**This article was first published in The Halal Journal Jul/Aug 2005 edition, and was written by Juana Jaafar.
