Selangor exco proposes special fund for funeral arrangements

 

State exco Anfaal Saari said the proposal also seeks to prevent incidents like the recent case where a stillborn baby was allegedly kept in a private hospital’s morgue due to delayed payment. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

An emergency or special fund should be established to assist next of kin who are unable to cover funeral arrangement costs at hospitals, including private facilities, says Selangor women’s development and social welfare committee chairman Anfaal Saari.

She explained that the proposal, which would be submitted to the health ministry for consideration, was aimed at expediting the funeral arrangement process.

The proposal also seeks to prevent incidents like the recent case where a stillborn baby was allegedly kept in a private hospital’s morgue due to delayed payment, Bernama reported.

“We will propose to the ministry the creation of a policy, including the establishment of a special fund that can be disbursed to assist recipients, particularly the next of kin in such situations,” she said.

“This initiative is also a fardhu kifayah (communal obligation) for Muslims, especially in facilitating the swift management of funeral arrangements,” she told reporters after an event at the Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Building in Shah Alam.

Anfaal also plans to propose that the state zakat management authority do the same.

On allegations that the private hospital had detained the body of the stillborn baby due to the parents’ inability to pay the bill, Anfaal said the state government was waiting for accurate information from the police and health ministry before taking further action.

Anfaal noted that both the baby’s parents and the hospital had presented their respective arguments and said she would ensure the investigation’s results were thoroughly examined before deciding on any further steps, such as offering counselling.

The case, which went viral on social media, involved a baby boy’s body that was allegedly kept in a morgue’s freezer for two weeks by a private hospital after his father failed to settle the bill. - FMT