HALAL NON-COMPLIANCE FACTORS AMONG INDUSTRIAL CERTIFICATE HOLDERS: KUANTAN REGULATORY OBSERVATIONS

Post-certification compliance remains a formidable challenge within Malaysia's halal ecosystem, as many industry players default to a pattern of "symbolic compliance." This study aims to analyze the root causes of Non-Compliance Reports (NCR) among industrial halal certificate holders, focusing specifically on the field observations of halal auditors in Kuantan, Pahang. Employing a qualitative research design, primary data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with four key informants from the Halal Management Division of the Pahang Islamic Religious Department (JAIP). The data were examined using narrative analysis and complemented by a secondary document review of the Manual Procedure for Malaysia Halal Certification (MPPHM) 2020. The findings reveal that NCR incidents are not merely isolated technical or operational lapses; rather, they are systemic products of an interconnected "NCR Chain" rooted in a top-management governance crisis. Driven by a purely commercial orientation, organizations demonstrate a lack of resolve to internalize halal standards, often over-investing in external consultants for operational "shortcuts" while misallocating internal budgets. This financial skewness starves critical operational components, resulting in the absence of dedicated Halal Executives, a lack of employee awareness training, and a superficial Internal Halal Committee (IHC), which ultimately manifests as physical sanitation and pest control failures on the production floor. To break this cyclical non-compliance, this study suggests a regulatory paradigm shift by JAKIM and JAIP toward aggressive unannounced audits, direct competency literacy testing for IHC members, and comprehensive capacity-building initiatives for SMEs to reduce third-party consultant dependency and foster a genuine, sustainable halal culture.