Talent, Teams and Training: Managing Muslim Markets in Malaysia and Singapore

Halal (literally, ‘permissible’ or ‘lawful’) production, trade and standards have become essential to state-regulated Islam and to companies in contemporary Malaysia and Singapore, but also globally. This chapter explores the ways in which halal in Malaysia and Singapore evolved to become a major national focus of state and market. It is a mandatory requirement that companies set up what is called a Halal Committee in Malaysia and a Halal Team in Singapore. These committees and teams are made up of Muslim members in order to ensure the ‘halalness’ of products. Hence, being (Malay) Muslim is seen by the state as a talent or skill necessary to produce and handle halal in the two countries. Building on a case study on manufacturing companies in Malaysia and halal training in Singapore, this chapter argues that the state has played a pivotal role in making and managing halal markets in the two countries. The methodology of this study is based on participant observation and interviews undertaken with state bureaucracies and manufacturing companies. This chapter uses comparison as a powerful conceptual mechanism that fixes attention on the similarities and differences between the two countries.