29 THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HALAL LOGO AND CERTIFICATION TOWARDS RESTAURANT PERFORMANCE ALIFFAIZI ARSAT, RAJA SAIDATUL HISAN RAJA AZAM, MUHAMMAD IZZAT ZULKIFLY, SABAIANAH BACHOK, NORADZHAR BABA Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management, MARA University of Technology, Malaysia ABSTRACT This study investigates the factors that can influence the implementation of Halal logo and certification. It also identifies the constraints on implementing the system by the respective restaurant and following with the impacts on implementing the system towards the restaurant performance. Sample populations of this study were among the manager or owner of the restaurant around Klang Valley which already implemented the system. Result from face-to-face interviews by using semi structured questions revealed that majority of the representatives believed that customers were the most important factor in implementing the Halal logo and certification. It also appears some constraints about the system namely the documentation, the implementations and resistance to change. The study also highlights several important points which should be beneficial to the government, restaurant industry, societies and other related agencies. Overall, some useful insights were obtained. Keywords: Halal, Restaurant OVERVIEW It is globally understandable that Halal is an Arabic word means lawful and permitted. Conversely, the Haram means unlawful or prohibited. (Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America – IFANCA, 2007; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2006; and Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia – JAKIM, 2007). The three organizations agreed that Halal and Haram are universal terms that apply to all facets of life. However, these terms are used mostly in relation to food products, food ingredients and food contact materials. The notion had been supported strongly by Yaacob, Jamil, Awis and Ahmad (2007) who briefly described the term Halal as permissible based on Syariah perspectives, which are coming from religious and spiritual faith beliefs. Within the execution of Islamic concept, there is a dietary law which categorized food as Halal or Haram. Halal foods are permitted while foods that are believed to be Haram are prohibited. As a main basis of understanding, Muslim are prohibited from consuming pork and alcohol because they are regarded as unclean or termed as ‘Najis’. Therefore, pork and alcoholic items are both considered as Haram (Ali, 2001). Other example, meat products for Muslims consumers must been slaughtered following to the Islamic slaughter practices. On the other hand, the concept of Halal must be applied with the concept of ‘Toyibbah’ (Abdul Talib, Mohd Ali and Jamaluddin, 2006). The term is referred as being good or wholesome, with respect to quality, safety, hygiene, cleanliness and nutrition and authentically scientific. While many items are clearly Halal or clearly Haram, there are still some things which are not clear. These kinds of items are considered to be questionable or of being of a suspicious nature and therefore more information are needed to categorize them as Halal or Haram. When there is uncertainty, the item is referred to as being questionable or referred to as Mashbooh (IFANCA, 2007; JAKIM, 2007). From the above statements, the public is generally questioning why the application of Halal logo and certification in restaurant is particularly important in this country. The apparent answer is that 56 percent of Malaysian consumers are Muslim and spends almost 35 percent of their income on foods. Beside that,