Halal Awareness among Muslim Consumers in Choosing Food at Mixed Dining Spaces: Case Study in Sarawak, Malaysia

Topspot Food Court in the city of Kuching, Sarawak is a nice open-air food outlet serving different and wide kinds of dishes both locally and internationally. But, there is a problem with halal issues in the presence of stalls that deal with alcoholic beverages in the same eating place by Muslim customers. In late 2024, as advised by the Sarawak Islamic Religious Department (JAIS), the Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) presented a zoning to divide the eating places intelligently using alcohol consumption whereby areas which consume alcohol were farther, and places which did not use alcohol were close to the eating premises. The project was pulled back following the outcry against this move showing necessity to appreciate the view of the Muslim consumers in the hybrid environments. The purpose of this research is to assess the limited knowledge of halal food in terms of halalan tayyiban, determine the effects of religion in the food choices and discuss recommendations to enhance the halal eating experience in Topspot. The research was quantitative in approach where questionnaires were administered among 133 Muslim participants. In the results section, it was found that the awareness provided on a religion can be a significant dependency towards the food consumption tending to use signage which clearly shows across halal, the outlook of the vendors and the hygiene provided. A lot of respondents also supported a better marking of halal areas so that everything could be comfortable and secure. The result gives special emphasis to the need of having inclusive planning of food courts which is in compliance with religious sensitivities and helps in keeping peace in common dining areas

Alcohol, Consumer, Halal, Muslim, Religious Sensitivities

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