Standard MS ISO 9001 To Be Published In November

PETALING JAYA, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- Standard MS ISO 9001, which is being reviewed by the International Organisation for Standardisation, will be published this November, says Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Datuk Dr Maximus Johnity Ongkili.

He said changes in the new standard are expected to be minimum and would still be based on the eight management principles currently employed.

"Based on initial information, the changes will also not require special audit by the Certification Body and its enforcement will be decided by the general supervisory audit," he said in his speech at the 2008 SIRIM-Industry gathering at Sunway Resort & Spa, here Friday evening.

He said that the implementation of the MS ISO 9001 has continued to be upgraded since its launch 20 years ago.

Ongkili said the 9011:2000 standard for instance which stressed on quality management has been further strengthened and adopted as a global standard.

This standard gives the guarantee on capacity, fulfills the quality requirement and also raises the level of trust and consumer satisfaction.

As of 2006, a total of 897,866 ISO 9001:2002 certifications have been issued in 170 countries, a rise by 16 percent from 2005 where certifications were issued in 161 countries.

Ongkili said the government has always stressed on quality in the public service. This has been an agenda in the public administration as any fault in the quality of the public service will greatly impact the country's development process.

Therefore, the implementation and adherence by all government agencies to the MS ISO 9001 certification is of utmost importance, he said.