…the BPJPH will reopen Free Halal Certification or Sehati with a quota of one million for MSE players.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Halal Product Assurance Agency (BPJPH) of the Religious Affairs Ministry has decided to reopen the free halal certification program with the target of certifying one million micro and small enterprises (MSEs).

"I have conveyed to Gus Men (nickname of Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas) that the BPJPH will reopen Free Halal Certification or Sehati with a quota of one million for MSE players," BPJPH head Aqil Irham informed here on Thursday.

According to him, the program reflects the government's support for MSE players, as mandated by law.

"This program is also included in the integrity pact that I inked in front of the Religious Affairs Minister," Irham said.

Sixty-two percent of the funding required for the issuance of one million free certificates will come from the BPJPH's total budget for 2024, he informed. The funding will also be supported by the halal certification budget of various ministries, agencies, and stakeholders.

"It includes support from the budget nomenclature for facilitating halal certification from regional governments throughout Indonesia through the issuance of Home Affairs Minister's Regulation Number 15 of 2023, as well as from other stakeholders," he said.

Online registration for the Sehati program has been opened on the PUSAKA Apps application of the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Besides providing free halal certification assistance, efforts to bolster the Halal Product Assurance (JPH) implementation ecosystem have also been carried out by the BPJPH by strengthening synergy and collaboration with parties within the country and abroad.

Regarding international cooperation, the agency is seeking to complete the assessment of 38 foreign halal institutions as soon as possible.

Earlier, on December 19, 2023, Irham claimed that his agency had issued halal certificates for 3.4 million products in Indonesia in four years.

"From October 2019 to December 2023, some 3,419,649 products have been certified as halal," he said during the publication of the export performance of Indonesian halal products in Jakarta.

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Translator: Asep Firmansyah, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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