Prabowo Pledges to Make Indonesia Hub of
Global Halal Economy
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta -Indonesian Presidential
candidate Prabowo Subianto and his running mate, Sandiaga Uno, have pledged to
make Indonesia the fifth biggest halal economy in the world if they win the
upcoming presidential elections.
This election promise was uttered by
Sandiaga Uno, widely known as businessman-turned politician and former deputy
Jakarta governor, when he spoke at the "Indonesia Triumphs` Initiative to
be a Hub of the World`s Halal Economy" in Jakarta on Feb. 2.
His main reason for making Indonesia be one
of the hubs of the world`s halal economy is related to its huge potency because
its market is expected to reach around 1.8 billion Muslims across the globe.
The potency of the global halal economy was
estimated to reach around Rp3,300 trillion (US$1 = Rp14,143). Therefore, with a
large Muslim population, Indonesia should be able to emerge as the hub of the
world`s halal economy, Sandiaga Uno said.
According to a report produced by the Dubai
International Financial Center, with 1.8 billion Muslims all across the world,
their spending was estimated at US$2.1 trillion in 2017
(https://haladinar.io/hdn/doc/report2018.pdf).
The report further reveals that globally,
Muslim had spent an estimated $2.1 trillion in 2017 across lifestyle sectors,
while the Islamic finance sector had $2.4 trillion in total assets.
"Food and beverage leads Muslim
spending by category at $1.3 trillion, followed by clothing and apparel at $270
billion, media and entertainment at $209 billion, travel at $177 billion, and
spending on pharmaceuticals and cosmetics at $87 billion and $61 billion
respectively," it noted.
Considering the above huge potency of the
world`s halal economy, Malaysia has even leaped to lead this economic sector
among countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
As part of its endeavors to get greater
accesses to the regional and global halal markets, the Malaysia Islamic
Development Department (Jakim) formed the International Halal Authority Board
(IHAB) last year.
By establishing this Jakim`s IHAB, Malaysia
is expected to be able to bring "greater global collaboration to halal
certification in foodstuffs, non-food products and tourism" (Parker,
2018).
In Mushtak Parker`s point of view,
"Jakim`s IHAB initiative is an important manifestation of Malaysia Inc`s
halal economy strategy going forward" (New Straits Times, April 13, 2018).
This neighboring country`s strategy in
getting greater benefits of this global halal market is implemented by
facilitating its banking sector to play role in financing the US$6.4 trillion
global halal economy.
Maybank Islamic Bhd CEO Rafique Merican was
quoted by Bloomberg as saying that his bank was expected to be able to open its
first overseas branch in Dubai in 2019 to meet the demand for financing the
global halal economy (The Star Online).
Malaysia has been moving forward. Indonesia
itself is also directed to the similar path to enable it to gain benefits of
this huge global halal market.
Sandiaga Uno has expressed his optimism
that as the world`s largest Muslim country, Indonesia would become a hub of the
world`s halal economy in several years from now if Indonesians could be the
main players of the country`s halal industries.
The halal industries are even being
developed seriously in different parts of the globe, including in countries
like Thailand, South Korea, and Japan, by considering the huge potency of the
world`s halal economy.
Attempting to convince his seriousness, Sandiaga
Uno said he had discussed his plan to develop Indonesia`s halal economy if the
Prabowo-Sandi pair won the elections, due to be held on April 17, 2019, with
Irwandi Jaswir.
"The potency of our country`s halal
economy is so huge. It is not just related to its natural resources but also
its human resources. Thus, we must be the key players and winners of the halal
economy," he said.
Irwandi Jaswir is a leading figure in the
halal economic field. He is an Indonesian, who has won the King Faisal International
Prize for "Service to Islam" in 2018.
"The target of Indonesia Triumphs is
making Indonesia the world`s fifth halal economic power within five years, and
the center of the world`s halal economy within 10 years. The sooner the
better," Sandiaga Uno said.
At the moment, Indonesia is also viewed as
being one of the countries in the Southeast Asian region that has been
potentially selected to be a place for learning and cooperation.
The Cambodian Government, for instance, is
willing to learn from Indonesia`s experience in producing halal products amid
growing demand for the halal economy.
To this end, the Cambodian Government
intends to send its selected citizens to join relevant training programs in
Indonesia to gain knowledge on basic ways to produce and develop halal
products, Indonesian Ambassador to Cambodia Sudirman Haseng stated.
"I see the strong will of the
Cambodian Government to be able to produce several halal products to support
its exports to other countries, especially those in the Middle East," he
noted.
Apart from sending its citizens to learn
ways to produce halal products, this Buddhist-majority country also requires
Indonesia`s assistance in basic infrastructure for preparing standard operating
procedures, organization, and developing cooperation.
If countries like Japan, South Korea,
Thailand, and Cambodia, have been eyeing the huge potency of the global halal
economy, Indonesia should be more serious in making itself become one of the
key global players.
Link->https://en.tempo.co/read/1176589/prabowo-pledges-to-make-indonesia-hub-of-global-halal-economy
|