ISLAMIC MEDICAL STUDIES

The Ministry of Health in Malaysia will soon introduce a two-and-a-half year diploma course in Islamic Medical Practice at a local university in Kuala Lumpur. The director of the ministry’s Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) Division, Dr Ramli Abd Ghani, said the course content was developed with the assistance of prominent local practitioners like Dr Harun Din, Datuk Amran Kasimin, Dr Hatta Sharom and other T&CM practitioners. The aim was to train Malay healers in the true teachings of Islam and to avoid “syrik and khurafat” (polytheism) practices in some Malay-Muslim communities, he said. Dr Ramli said the graduates, who would be certified registered practitioners, would be self-employed to treat “santau” (a kind of deadly poison coupled with magical incantations) and other spiritual problems. They might also be employed in selected government institutions in the future, he added. Dr Ramli said the division was also working on introducing degree courses in traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, naturopathy, homeopathy, Malay medicine, Ayurvedic medicine and Chiropractic care.