Ex-restaurateur turned PM's aide opposes mandatory halal cert

There is no need to make the halal certification mandatory for all restaurants and food companies that don’t deal with pork or alcohol, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s political secretary Azman Abidin.

While he welcomed Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar’s proposal, the former restaurateur said the process of obtaining the certification is far from simple.

“It is expensive and there are...