Discretion and Coping Strategies of Halal Product Process Facilitators in a Muslim-Minority City: The Case of Manado, Indonesia

Abstract

Indonesia’s transition to mandatory halal certification has positioned halal product process facilitators (Pendamping Proses Produk Halal/PPH) as key frontline actors in the self-declare scheme for micro and small enterprises (MSEs). This article examines how PPH facilitators in Manado, a Muslim-minority city, understand the self-declare programme, exercise discretion, and develop coping strategies under persistent operational and systemic constraints. By situating the analysis in a Muslim-minority context, the study illustrates how Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucracy applies to the implementation of Indonesia’s national halal certification regime. Theoretically, the article contributes to street-level bureaucracy scholarship by showing that, in a Muslim-minority setting, discretion may involve not only rationing and simplification but also legitimating and interpretive work, as frontline actors reframe policy meaning when engaging with clients who vary in their understanding of halal certification. Using a qualitative case study based on an open-ended online survey analysed through thematic analysis, the study finds that facilitators predominantly frame the self-declare scheme as an instrument of procedural facilitation, legal certainty, and market access for MSEs, while reporting persistent limitations such as personally borne operational costs, incomplete documentation, time pressures, and recurrent technical problems when entering data into the SIHALAL system. In response, they rely on discretionary prioritisation of cases, procedural simplification, and intensive communicative work with Muslim and non‑Muslim business owners, with potential distributive implications for how convincingly and consistently the legitimacy of halal certification is articulated to different groups of business owners.