HALALJOURNAL REVAMPED TO FURTHER PROMOTE HALAL INDUSTRY

KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 (Bernama) -- Top halal website Halaljournal.com has been revamped and is expected to attract more hits in its bid to further promote the industry, its editor Jumaatun Azmi said Thursday.

A product of local company KasehDia Sdn Bhd, the online magazine has been
modernised and is working with Google for better search features, she said,
adding that it has also been linked to bigger websites like BBC for more
coverage.

"Malaysia is at the forefront of leadership for progressive Islamic concepts
and the halal industry. So we want to be the best in delivering news and
intelligence to the market," she told reporters at the launch of the revamped
online magazine here.

Jumaatun, who is also KasehDia's managing director, said the firm was now
focusing more on online medium which is considered the future of
telecommunications and an important tool for influence.

Halaljournal.com has been getting about 600,000 hits per month, an increase
of 30 times since it was first launched, and is now used to track trends and
problems in the halal industry.

At the launch, Halal Industry Development Corporation's chief executive
officer, Jamil Bidin, said a major barrier in developing the industry was
awareness.

"We are moving into new areas of halal. It is not just food but cosmetics,
pharmaceuticals, services like banking, and also logistics," Jamil said.

"People want to know what Malaysia is doing, especially about halal
standards, and KasehDia has increased awareness tremendously," he said.

He added that HDC's own online database, Halal Support Centre, was working
closely with Halaljournal.com and sharing content like fatwa, events and
stories.
-- BERNAMA