MOH Committed To Enhancing Syariah-compliant Healthcare Services - Dzulkefly

BANGI, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Health (MOH) is committed to enhancing Syariah-compliant healthcare services to provide added value to patients, especially Muslims seeking such services.

Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said that the concept of Syariah compliance encompasses not only healthcare services and facilities but also medical equipment and pharmaceuticals, reflecting Malaysia's commitment to branding Syariah-compliant values that offer significant added value.

“This is what we want to enhance so that it becomes a good added value sought by Muslims in particular who wish to subscribe and patronise this.

“Syariah compliance has everything to do with the total well-being of society. It involves quality services that are affordable, safe, and effective. This special added value aligns with the aspirations of a MADANI nation under the current leadership,” he told reporters after officiating the Syariahcare Symposium: Pionereing Health with Malaysian Syariah Values, here today.

Dzulkefly said that this holistic approach has seen growing demand, especially from health tourists and travellers from Muslim-majority countries.

“We have also observed that recently, under the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), there is rising interest from international patients, especially from the Middle East, who are specifically seeking Syariah-compliant services,” he said.

Based on shared data, Dzulkefly said that 35 per cent out of 54 hospitals under the MOH (54 hospitals) are recognised/certified as worship-friendly hospitals.

Efforts are also underway to expand this certification to more government and private hospitals to attract health tourists, he said.

Earlier in his speech, Dzulkefly said that Syariah-based healthcare is not something new as it is rooted in Islamic history.

“The principles of Maqasid Shariah form the foundation of Islamic healthcare. It aims to ensure the holistic wellbeing of humans by preserving five essential aspects namely religion (Hifz ad-Din), life (Hifz an-Nafs), intellect (Hifz al-Aql), lineage (Hifz al-Nasl), and wealth (Hifz al-Mal).

“I was made to understand that KMI Healthcare, one of the organisers of this symposium, is also providing worship-friendly hospital services.

“Several other hospitals have also adopted and implemented MS ISO 1900:2014, which is the Malaysian Standard for Syariah-Compliant Quality Management Systems in hospital management. In addition to meeting the needs of Muslim patients, this effort also positions Malaysia as a global model for Syariah-based healthcare,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Understanding Institute of Malaysia (IKIM), Medic Iman Group Sdn Bhd, and Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) have expressed their commitment to the development of Syariah values in the healthcare sector through the organisation of the symposium.

The symposium is a continuation of a research project involving IKIM and UTP, alongside researchers from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), concerning the Syariah-Compliant Islamic Medical Service Standard Framework for Health Providers in Malaysia.

Also present were IKIM chairman Prof Datuk Dr Muhammad Nur Manuty, UTP vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohamed Ibrahim Abdul Mutalib, and chief executive officer of Medic Iman Group Sdn Bhd, Dr Rayney Azmi Ali.

-- BERNAMA