Zam zam water, which is available at a hefty price, is no longer permitted to be sold in Malaysia after the Saudi embassy in Malaysia ruled against the sale. The letter below was taken from the Desk of the Director-General of Health Malaysia.
Director-General of Health, Datuk Noor Hisham Abdullah said on 9 December 2017 “the Saudi government only allowed the distribution of zamzam water for free to the pilgrims of haj and umrah as well as visitors for personal consumption in limited quantity,” reported The Star.
Moreover, zam zam water, which is obtained from underground sources, is classified as natural mineral water under the Regulation 360A of Food Regulations 1985. Therefore, the importation of zam zam water requires approval from the government.
Any commercial sale of zam zam water abroad is deemed a “commercial fraud,” said the Saudi embassy. This comes as the kingdom does not allow the export of the water abroad.
This marks the end of the sale of the prohibitive zam zam water in Malaysia, which many sellers claim to have curative power.
We have reported about zam zam water in a post in February 2014. A 10 litre zam zam water could be sold for up to RM 100 but it has been proven very hard to verify its authenticity.
Zam zam water is also featured as an ingredient in some of the herbal drinks in Malaysia. The sellers of these beverages have to reformulate their products to avoid being fined under Section 4(1) (f) of Food Act 1983.
The crackdown on zam zam water sale marks the end of the era of zam zam water sale in Malaysia. Unless sustained enforcement is carried out, there will still be the unauthorised sale of the water as the curative power of the water is well known among Muslims worldwide.
