Kota Kinabalu: Sabah should leverage its agriculture, fisheries, food production and strategic geographical position to become a regional halal gateway linking Malaysia with Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines, said Sabah State Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Brigadier General Datuk Al-Hambra Tun Juhar.
He said Sabah was not starting from zero in developing its halal industry, with existing halal products, export capabilities, ports and connectivity providing a strong foundation, but businesses needed to scale up production, strengthen logistics and capture more value locally.
Al-Hambra with guests and delegates at the event.“The question is not how do we start a halal industry, but how do we take what we already have and make it bigger, better and more valuable,” he said in his keynote address at the third Bimp-Eaga Trade Investment and Halal Industry Conference on Wednesday.
Al-Hambra said Sabah’s halal development should be guided by his “Segitiga Maju Jaya” framework comprising three priorities — production, gateway and value-add — beginning with connecting farmers, fishermen, food manufacturers, packaging companies and SMEs within a stronger ecosystem.
He said the State’s challenge was no longer simply its ability to produce, but whether businesses could produce enough, consistently and competitively to meet international demand, while warning that expansion into markets such as the Philippines and Indonesia would bring higher costs for machinery, manpower and logistics.
Businesses, he said, must therefore take calculated risks by studying overseas demand, competitors, pricing and market opportunities, while ensuring they had healthy cash flow, stable production and sufficient capacity at home before expanding abroad.
“Going into a bigger market should not be an escape from weaknesses at home,” he said.
Al-Hambra also stressed that halal certification alone would not be sufficient for international market access, as exporters must be able to meet quality, safety, traceability and manufacturing requirements, including standards such as HACCP, GMP and ISO 22000 where required.
In this regard, he said Sabah should also diversify beyond food products into halal ingredients, higher-value food products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, lifestyle products and Muslim-friendly tourism services, while focusing on sectors where the State had genuine resources and competitive advantages.
