Kota Kinabalu: Sabah should leverage its agriculture, fisheries, food production and strategic location to establish itself as a regional halal gateway connecting Malaysia with Brunei, Indonesia and the Philippines, said State Legislative Assembly Deputy Speaker Datuk Al-Hambra Tun Juhar.
Speaking at the third Bimp-Eaga Trade Investment and Halal Industry Conference on Wednesday, he said the State already possessed the foundational products, ports and connectivity, but local businesses needed to scale up output, improve logistics and capture more economic value locally.
He proposed the "Segitiga Maju Jaya" framework focused on production, gateway infrastructure and value addition, urging producers to address domestic supply constraints, maintain healthy cash flow and secure international safety standards such as HACCP, GMP and ISO 22000 rather than relying on halal certification alone.
Al-Hambra added that developing an integrated logistics network comprising cold-chain facilities, storage, ports and distribution would allow Sabah to anchor a Borneo halal corridor linking Sarawak, Brunei, Kalimantan and Mindanao to global markets.
He also stressed that raw commodities such as seafood must be processed, packaged and branded locally to retain economic value and create downstream jobs, noting that the halal hub at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Plaza should be judged by trade generated rather than physical size.