Islamic ethical principles as internal determinants of sustainable halal integrity for Malaysia's online food delivery industry

Abstract

Malaysia's online food delivery (OFD) sector has grown rapidly, yet this growth creates a specific challenge to halal integrity at the last-mile delivery stage. Once food leaves a certified vendor, its halal status depends on platform systems, rider conduct, and real-time handling decisions outside continuous supervision. Existing halal logistics standards provide the procedural foundation, but their application to multi-actor, platform-mediated delivery remains incomplete when the actors responsible for execution lack internal ethical formation. This conceptual paper argues that Islamic Ethical Principles (IEPs) must function as internal determinants of conduct, complementing rather than replacing procedural assurance. Three objectives guide the study: to identify the operational and informational dimensions of the last-mile halal integrity gap in Malaysia's OFD sector; to examine how six selected IEPs, namely taqwa, amanah, taharah, mas'uliyyah, qist, and ihsan, function as internal determinants of halal conduct when direct monitoring is limited; and to propose an integrated framework linking procedural assurance, ethical self-regulation, and shared halal responsibility. The study employs qualitative literature synthesis and normative Islamic ethical analysis, supported by documented Malaysian cases. The analysis shows each principle responds to a specific last-mile vulnerability: low supervision, trust-based handling, purity and contamination control, accountability, fairness in information, and excellence beyond minimum compliance. Halal integrity emerges as a shared moral responsibility across vendors, platform providers, riders, and consumers. The proposed framework comprises four levels: the OFD integrity gaps, the combination of external procedural assurance and internalised IEPs, shared halal responsibility across actors, and self-regulating halal conduct producing sustainable halal integrity. The study extends halal logistics literature toward internal ethical formation, operationalises classical principles in platform-based delivery, and offers an integrated basis for OFD halal assurance addressing both gap dimensions