Waqf hospital a welcome addition, says Fuziah

Fuziah Salleh (File pic)

BANGI, July 31 (Bernama) -- Affordable healthcare such as that provided by a waqf hospital is very much needed in Malaysia and will be a welcome addition to the healthcare industry, said deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Fuziah Saleh today.

She noted that a fairly-priced three-star hospital with specialist treatment would definitely be a boon to the industry especially to the patients. 

"We will add elements of waqf, zakat, infaq and endowment to the business model. That will be totally different from other specialist hospitals," she said in her speech at a ceremony to honour the most influential women in Islamic finance and business as ranked by Cambridge International Financial Advisory. 

Also present was Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ir  Amiruddin Hamzah. 

Fuziah noted that the recent Auditor-General’s Report showed 41.3 per cent of patients had waited for six hours in the emergency ward of government hospitals due to lack of budget, staff strength and facilities. 

Meanwhile, one out of three doctors experienced 'burnout' symptoms, she added. 

Fuziah also made a request to the Ministry of Finance to urge Islamic banks to allocate a small portion of their profits to support waqf-based projects.

"Just a five per cent allocation based on profits made in 2017 would amass a sum of RM300 million, more than sufficient to fund a 200-bed hospital," she added.

Fuziah said a Waqf Bill wil be tabled in Parliament at the end of the year.

"We want to ensure good governance and the waqf is not misused. The Bill will be tabled at the next session,” she said.

 Earlier at the event, Fuziah and Amiruddin witnessed the signing of memoranda, including between Kasih Holdings Sdn Bhd and Hospital Pusrawi Sdn Bhd to signify their collaboration in developing the National Kasih hospital programme throughout Malaysia. 

-- BERNAMA