Kota Kinabalu: Sabah’s halal industry has the potential to expand into services such as tourism, education, training and research, on top of food and non-food products, said State Industry, Entrepreneurship and Transport Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick.
“Advancing Sabah’s halal industry requires a complete ecosystem from production and processing to certification and marketing,” he said when officiating the two-day Jelajah Halal Malaysia (JHM) programme at the Sabah International Convention Centre, here, Saturday.
Central to this was a RM62 million halal hub planned at Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park, covering 8.09 hectares, which he said would provide a one-stop centre offering technology facilities and certification support.
“This hub is not just a physical space. It comes with full facilities, including a halal one-stop centre, certification support and access to export opportunities,” he said, adding it would focus especially on helping small and medium enterprises scale up halal production.
He said the Halal Research and Service Centre at Universiti Malaysia Sabah was a positive development that could serve as an important reference point in ensuring Sabah halal products remained high quality and globally competitive.
Citing figures from the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, Ewon said about 9,000 companies nationwide held halal certification, of which around 420 were based in Sabah.
“The number is modest but the State Government, through the Muis Halal Hub and in cooperation with the Halal Development Corporation (HDC), has various plans to raise the figure, particularly among food and beverage businesses,” he said.
He said the State Government’s focus on halal industry development spanned infrastructure, training and entrepreneur support and involved the Department of Industrial Development and Research and its subsidiary Sedcovest, both under his Ministry.
He said he had previously overseen similar initiatives while serving at the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives, where halal certification awareness workshops were held with the State Government and the Halal Industry Development Division in cooperation with Muis Halal Hub to build awareness among local Sabah entrepreneurs.
Additionally, he noted the Sabah Islamic Religious Council’s important role in ensuring halal standards were properly upheld while helping small enterprises obtain certification more easily.
“Cooperation between the State and Federal governments, agencies, institutions and entrepreneurs moving together could build a stronger and more competitive halal industry,” he said.
He noted that Malaysia had retained the top spot in the Global Islamic Economy Indicator for 12 consecutive years, ahead of countries including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Turkey, a result he attributed to the country’s national ecosystem supporting halal industry growth.
On the programme at hand, he said this was the third time the JHM programme had been held in Sabah and it had consistently drawn good participation from local entrepreneurs.
Additionally, he also congratulated Shangri-La Tanjung Aru for winning the Muslim-Friendly Tourism Excellence Award at the World Halal Excellence Awards 2025 Borneo, an award organised by the HDC.
He said that while Muslim-friendly tourism fell under the Islamic Tourism Centre, preparation work for premises seeking Muslim-friendly accreditation, including training and advisory services, was carried out by HDC and the Department of Standards Malaysia.
Ewon also noted that Sabah had more than 12,000 companies registered with the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation for export markets, but only 261 of them were Sabah-based, a number he said he hoped would grow through initiatives such as the JHM programme.
Present were HDC Chairman Professor Dr Mohd Afandi Salleh and the State Industry, Entrepreneurship and Transport Ministry’s Permanent Deputy Secretary II Moira David, among others.
