Eyes cast on branding Brunei as international Halal trade hub

The Brunei Darussalam BIMP-EAGA (Brunei- Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area) Business Council (BDBEBC) strategic initiative mandated by BIMP-EAGA Vision 2025 is to promote the development of the BIMP-EAGA region as the main economic platform on moving towards the Halal economy through the private sector with the main focus to brand Brunei Darussalam as an International Halal Trade Hub on Syariah Compliance Value Stream and Trade services, and promoting Asean Economic Community (AEC) as industries and production base for the global Islamic market.

These comments were made by BDBEBC Deputy Chairman Captain (Rtd) Zailan bin Pehin Datu Kerma Setia Major (Rtd) Dato Seri Laila Jasa Mohd Don at the BDBEBC product launch and certificate of appointment presentation at the Knowledge Hub (K-Hub) at Anggerek Desa Tech Park yesterday.

BDBEBC Chairman Pengiran Haji Haris bin Pengiran Haji Duraman was the guest of honour, while BDBEBC Supreme Advisor Pengiran Yura Kesetria bin Pengiran Setia Negara Pengiran Dr Haji Mohd Yusuf was the special guest.

Captain (Rtd) Zailan said that in efforts to spin off influence on growth and development in the East Asean Region and socio economic development, by creating employment and self-employment, BDBEBC accomplished six out of nine initiatives that had been signed through the strategic alliances agreements during the last BDBEBC – BIMP-EAGA Tertiary Industry Forum Showcase 2019, where yesterday’s event saw two out of the six successful accomplishments.

“The strategic alliances agreements were also as part of the BDBEBC enabling strategy to enable the Halal Economy with a start-up by providing an economic ecosystem to influence the movement of Syariah compliant products and to enable the establishment of Halal Economy in the Special Economic Zones within BIMP-EAGA region and beyond,” the deputy chairman added.

“On the domestic front, under-standing the current underlying economic condition requires first hand accurate information. The impact of the current challenges, the effectiveness of the current microeconomic policies and the stimulus measure toward the affected businesses and the business ecosystem must be addressed at the strategic level,” said the deputy chairman.

“During this COVID-19 pandemic, collective effort of all business associations and societies is required to address the current situation. At this stage BDBEBC hopes to play an effective leading role and will provide as many possible solutions to mitigate the situation.”

The event continued with the presentation of a certificate of appointment to BDBEBC’s new council member, Rabi’atul Adawiyah binti Abdullah as the BDBEBC Secretary of International Trade, along with a presentation of a Certificate of Recognition for Genuine Support, Efforts and Services to the Country, the People and the BDBEBC to Hajah Siti Zaleha binti Haji Kaprawi, Norhayati binti Haji Abu Bakar, Saiful Rizal bin Haji Ariffin and Zolrimi bin Haji Muhaimin.

The event concluded with the launching of the BDBEBC e-commerce platform, the www.bimpneaga.com and the Sertu Wash, 3-in-1 Islamic cleanser and liquid soap.

The e-commerce platform is a joint initial investment between GTWO International Co Ltd – Thailand, IHTHS Corporation – Brunei Darussalam and PT Winmas – Indonesia, comprising products from BIMP-EAGA and beyond with a category for the Syariah compliant products.

Apart from online marketing and trading, the platform will indirectly provide the data collection for the Syariah compliant products and the traceability of its supply chain that provide assurances for the Muslim end user, with the greater prospective of enhancing the exposure and the better understanding of BIMP-EAGA region within the global perspective.

Meanwhile, Bersuci Sertu Wash is a collaboration taken by Bersuci Corporation, Koperasi Pusat Pembangunan Belia (KOPPB) Berhad and WGM Brunei to provide products for the Islamic way of Syariah Cleaning when in contact with najis mughallazah. The collaboration sought to promote the understanding of the market requirement and provide the sustainability of supply.

The year-long study was conducted by the Muslim community of Songkhla, Thailand with the intellectual property of Bersuci Corporation on product research and development, endorsed by the Islamic Committee of Songkhla and approved by the Ministry of Science Technology and Environment of Thailand with the certification of Halal issued by the Central Islamic Committee of Thailand.

BDBEBC foresees a smooth adaptation of BIMP-EAGA trade policy to progress development mainly in industrial growth and provide facilitation to businesses willing to expand beyond borders. The Islamic market is open to all businesses as long as it meets Syariah requirements.