The increase number of cases on the misuse of halal logo and questionable status of halal food has raised many concerns among the Muslim consumers regarding the status of halal food in Malaysia. The various reports on the issues of fraud in halal food also indicate that there are weaknesses in the procedure of determining halal food. In this case, an investigation on the procedures and standard reference used by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) to determine halal food in Malaysia needs to be conducted in order to gain the consumer's trust and confidence on JAKIM's logo. This study advocates that the concept of halalan tayyiban should be used as the framework to determine halal products as it considers both the physical and spiritual benefits of the food to mankind. So far, it has not been proven that the standard references used by JAKIM are consistent with this concept. Specifically, this study aimed to investigate the application of halalan tayyiban in the standards and procedures used by JAKIM to determine halal food in Malaysia. For this purpose, a framework for determining halal food based on the concept of halalan tayyiban has been developed. Four main standard references used by JAKIM, namely the Malaysian Standard MS 1500, MS 1480, MS 1514, Halal Food Manual Procedures, Food Acts 1983 and Food Regulations 1985 were then analysed based on the developed framework. Additionallly, semi-structured interviews were conducted with selected key personnel from JAKIM to verify the application of halalan tayyiban in the procedure of issuing halal food certification. This study revealed that the standard references used by JAKIM were consistent with the concept of halalan tayyiban. The practice taken by JAKIM's personnel to issue the halal food certification also conformed to the concept of halalan tayyiban. It can be concluded that JAKIM has applied the concept of halalan tayyiban in determining halal food in Malaysia. These findings help to improve the consumers' confidence on the food determined as halal by JAKIM. They also contribute to development of the well-being and sustainability of a community, especially the Muslim community.

Food premises that have secured the Halal Certification should comply with the requirements of the Internal Halal Assurance System (IHAS) in their premises. Internal Halal Assurance System (IHAS) is a system that ensures the integrity of halal food at the processing stage, thereby ensuring the production of halal and quality food. Although there is an increase in the number of food premises receive the Halal certificate by the Malaysian Islamic bodies, the continuous implementation of the IHAS at the respective food premises is still questionable. To ensure a sustainable practice of complying with the Halal certification system, this study aimed to investigate the knowledge and skills of the implementing the IHAS among the executives at the respective food premises. This study adopted a qualitative research approach using interview technique on 39 executives at the halal food premises throughout the State of Malacca. It was found that the halal executives implemented the IHAS mainly based on their knowledge in Islam as they lack of knowledge on the requirements of IHAS. Therefore, it is suggested that they should be given continuous training so that a sustainable implementation of IHAS at the food premises can be achieved. This can contribute to the good practice of delivering quality and safe food at the food premises.

No abstract

To achieve its vision to become a world-class provider for higher education in Asia Pacific, the Malaysian higher education has introduced a systematic strategic plan to develop a culture of academic excellence. Accordingly, a new position, namely a distinguished professor has been introduced as the highest position in the academic career. It is expected that an academic recognised as a distinguished professor projects excellent work practice. So far, there have been only three distinguished professors in Malaysia. Hence, this study aimed to profile the excellent work practices among the distinguished professors framed within Malaysian higher education promotion system. This study adopted a multiple case study consisting of three case studies represented by each distinguished professor. The main source of data collection was the face-to-face interview, which is complemented by written responses from the respondents and document analysis. This study found that all the three distinguished professors achieve excellent performance in all the five promotion assessment categories, which are the teaching and supervision, research and publication, academic recognition and leadership, services for the university and society, and consultation and partnership with the industry. It can be concluded that the identities of Malaysian professors are characterized by the local and global imperatives as they are shaped by not only the specific agenda of the country but also the global trend. Issues related to achieving excellent in work practice were also highlighted. Thus, this paper provides guidance for young academics pursuing for professorship to strategize their career pathway in the higher education sector.

Third-party halal certifications are frequently used as the main distribution channels for stunned meat in the UAE and other Muslim societies. Food inspectors are not taught how to interact with these outside parties, which is the main cause of this. This sheds light on the reason why the halal food inspectors were unable to thoroughly check packaged food and certifications. Hence, this paper presents a study on determine the success factors influencing halal food inspection management in UAE. The study identified 48 factors and clustered it into seven groups namely top management commitment; adequate support; halal training and education; employee attributes and management ; policy and procedure ; halal personnel empowerment ; customer focus. These factors were used in the questionnaire development and respondents were request to gauge the influence of these factors based on Likert scale. The data collected from this questionnaire survey was was analysed and found that A total of all of the variables, of which 15 have mean values of 2.68 or higher which are considered as highly influencing factors. In term of the group performance, it was found that the highest group of factors affecting the halal inspection management is halal training and education, followed by top management commitment then by customer focus then by halal personnel empowerment then by adequate support then by policy and procedure and finally by employee attributes and management.