By Dewi Abdul Rahman
SHAH ALAM, Nov 17 — Selangor is in the process of revising its system for checking the halal status of products to make it faster and more user friendly, said state executive councillor for Islamic affairs, innovation, and the halal industry Dr Mohammad Fahmi Ngah.
He said the new system will feature a halal ingredients and products-list database certified by the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) through an online application that will make it easy for quick checks.
"The improvements come from information that we have been gathering on Jakim products, and users will no longer need to download additional apps to make verifications," said Fahmi at the opening ceremony of Seri Setia's Deepavali celebrations at Dewan Bunga Kertas here, last night.
According to him, the state government is also considering the use of popular communication tools like WhatsApp as a means for checking the halal status of products, which he said, can be done via picture sharing.
"For this method, chatbot technology would be the simplest way to do it," he said, adding that artificial intelligence (AI) will also be leveraged to verify the status of questionable products and foods.
"We want to speed up this new system for early next year. Insya-Allah (God willing), we will have a working tool by the end of 2026."
During the 2006 Selangor Budget, the state allocated RM200,000 to enhance the current digital checking system, with focus given to improving speed, accuracy and its structure.
Once up, it will become the easiest halal checking system in the state and secure the state's position as the country's hahal hub.
