Bismillahirrahmanirrahim
Assalamualaikum and a very good afternoon
Thank you madam emcee for today’s session.
Distinguished panellists, moderators, members of media, ladies and gentlemen
When I first joined HDC back in 2010, (I was a young Manager back then), I observed that only a handful number of countries is aware or have some ideas about halal from industrial or economic development perspective.
Alhamdulillah, after years of hardwork done by HDC and various organizations around the world in promoting the halal development agenda, I can proudly say that today, the whole world knows or at least have some ideas on what halal or halal industry or halal economy is all about.
However, we are still not there yet as far as macroeconomic achievement is concern. If we look at the market potential of this economic segments, the demand stood around USD3.1 trillion as of last year (based on HDC’s analysis). But the supply going into this market still hovering around 20% to 25% for the past many years, leaving a huge gap of 80% between the demand and the supply.
During the press conference we had yesterday, I was asked on what will be my view and strategic response about this demand and supply gap issue?
And my answer is, if the gap is only left by
10% to 15%, the action to be taken by HDC will be, to compete strongly with the rest of the world. But, since the demand and supply gap on halal products and services is huge and we are talking about 80% here, our approach will not be to compete, INSTEAD we must collaborate and cooperate at G to G level as well as at business to business level.
The biggest challenge that we, the halal business ecosystem community is facing at the moment is supply chain inefficiency and in some parts of the world, disconnectivity. When we look deeper into the issue, we found out that the halal ecosystems are not connected, and the number of certified halal players and products is far from reaching its critical mass.
So, HDC being the agency trusted by the Malaysian government to central coordinating the halal ecosystem development agenda in Malaysia, and to internationalize the agenda through government to government cooperations, is ready to spearhead the initiatives. In a nutshell, the Malaysia halal ecosystem must be connected to halal ecosystem available around the world.
And that, Ladies and Gentlemen is what the World Halal Business Conference circuit is all about. It is not a trade show, neither an expo, but it is a strategic networking platform for the followers to unlocking business potentials and most importantly to creating values together, in this fastest growing segment in the world’s economy.
Ladies and gentleman
If I can sum up our 2 days event, there is a clear need to co-develop robust and sustainable halal ecosystems all over the world, which are connected to each other, efficiently. And to develop a robust and sustainable halal ecosystem, we must together enhance 2 core pillars: #1) the halal governance development framework; and #2) halal industry development framework. In order to make it efficient, this where science, innivation, technologies and talent development come into play and above all, sharing of responsibilities among stakeholders be it from the government bodies, private entities and non-governmental organizations is the key approach moving forward.
My special thanks goes to the Victorian Government and AUSTRADE for hosting WHBC’s first outing. Special thanks also to all partners, members of the media, moderators, speakers and participants. Most importantly to me, is credit to my team, led by Tuan Haji Adly and Madam Faridah for making this idea a reality. Of course, the first step is always the hardest one. Transformation works are not a minor tweaking. It is all about moving towards achieving an Olympic target.
To all of you, do keep following us through our social media platforms, stay tuned as we will announce our next destination soon and I hope that you can join our boat in promoting an inclusive halal economic development agenda from one country to another. I can bet you 100% that it is going to be a very interesting journey.
With that, I officially wrapped up our 2 days event. Thank you once more. Wabillaitaufikwalhidayah…