Zahid said the issue should not be politicised as it is still in the proposal stage and has yet to become a permanent policy.

He said no party should feel threatened by the proposal for mandatory halal certification.

“Matters related to religion, including on halal issues, are under the jurisdiction of the Conference of Rulers.

“If the study finds that halal certification should or should not be made mandatory, we will leave it to the rulers to decide,” he told  Malaysian reporters at the end of his visit to China today.

Zahid said that once the matter is brought to the Cabinet, the ministers will follow the lead of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to ensure the matter is not further politicised.

“We must respect the current system. Even though I am the chairman of the Malaysian Halal Council, I will certainly take a cautious approach regarding the findings of the study,” he said.

Yesterday, communications minister Fahmi Fadzil said Anwar had requested religious affairs minister Na’im Mokhtar to table a paper on the halal certification issue to the Cabinet meeting next week.

Last week, Na’im said the Malaysian Islamic development department (Jakim) was considering a proposal to make halal certification mandatory for restaurants and food companies that do not serve pork and alcohol.

The issue sparked controversy when Seputeh MP Teresa Kok responded by saying that halal certification should be voluntary to allow operators to make decisions based on market demand, not by compulsion.

Zahid said obtaining halal certification requires applicants to meet specified conditions to ensure the process runs smoothly.

He also reminded all parties not to accuse Jakim of being “slow” in issuing halal certificates.

“Previously, the process took nine months to complete. However, through an understanding between the Malaysian Halal Council and Jakim, it was reduced to 23 working days and is now further shortened to 15 working days,” he said.