Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said as a practising surgeon, he would ask his patients and family to pray before a surgery.

This remark comes after former minister Zaid Ibrahim defended his criticism of an AirAsia X pilot asking passengers onboard Flight D7237 to pray as it faced engine issues, by using a surgeon analogy.

He had said that if someone and their family were told by a heart specialist operating on that person to pray in the middle of the surgery, it would imply that person was in a dire situation and give out “worrying signals”.

However, Noor Hisham said he would ask his patient and their family to pray before a surgery too, as well as explain the nature of the operation.

“The important lesson is to start an operation with a prayer and explain to the patient and family the nature of the operation and, hence, create an expectation.

“We should assure them that we will do our best and ask them to pray too, regardless of their race or religion,” he said in a Facebook posting today...