Bukit banyan: The Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) has been instructed to carry out a detailed investigation into the appointment of a catering company without a Halal Certificate to supply food at a government hospital. Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar stated that he was unable to comment further on the matter for the time being.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Dr Mohd Na’im has tasked the JAKIM director-general with looking into the issue and is awaiting a report. ‘I have instructed the JAKIM director-general to look into the issue, and he will report back to me. I cannot respond until I receive his report,’ he told reporters after the ‘Ziarah MADANI Peduli’ programme held in Bukit Banyan.

During the programme, Dr Mohd Na’im presented an RM10,000 contribution to Mohd Lutfi Radzi, who sustained injuries in a recent bus crash on the East-West Highway in Gerik, Perak. The Auditor-General’s Report (LKAN) 2/2025, released yesterday, revealed that Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz UKM (HCTM) had awarded a catering contract valued at RM25.64 million to a company identified as 0267299-T. The contract, awarded to a company allegedly without a Halal Certificate, is set to supply food to hospital patients for three years starting February 2024.

Earlier, Dr Mohd Na’im visited Mohd Lutfi, his wife Nurul Ain Zakaria, and their two children, who were injured in the June 9 crash involving a Perodua Alza car. Mohd Lutfi expressed gratitude to Malaysians for their prayers and the assistance from police, firemen, and healthcare personnel. ‘Our condition has improved a lot. My wife, who fractured her ribs, is still on medical leave, and our child with the fractured thigh is already able to move independently,’ he said.