I was at first quite impressed that the Health Minister, Datuk Liow Tiong Lai had at last woken up to the gravity of the worst dengue epidemic and the chikungunya outbreak in the country when I heard that the Health Ministry had declared a “war on dengue”.
At last, I thought, the Health Minister has heard the critique of many at the Health Ministry’s indifference and irresponsibility at the dengue epidemic, with record dengue cases and dengue deaths last year, as well as the chikungunya outbreak in the country.
“War on dengue” is today’s front-page headline of the Star. It is the only newspaper today to quote Liow on the subject, making the most “un-warlike” comment –
“We are taking dengue fever cases very seriously because the numbers have doubled compared to the same time last year.”
This was followed by his most “unwarlike” action –off he went with the MCA delegation headed by MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Kiat for a trip to China – abandoning the “war on dengue” which had just been declared!
This is no war but a phoney war on dengue!
I am not saying that Liow should not be on the MCA delegation to China but going off in this fashion cannot convince Malaysians that the Health Ministry under his leadership is finally serious about a “war on dengue”.
How can there be a “war on dengue” when even the mainstream media is not aware of such war – with New Straits Times report running the headline “Dengue today more aggressive” and quoting the Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr. Mohd Ismail Merican’s lament that Malaysia seems to be losing the war against dengue.
Dr. Mohd Ismail was giving a media briefing on the latest dengue situation and reported that in the 17 days from Jan. 1 to 17, there were 3,211 cases with eight deaths, compared with 1,514 cases with four deaths for the same period last year.
What Liow did was just to comment on the latest statistics given out by Dr. Mohd Ismail but where is the “war” plan and “war” strategy against dengue? Is there a “war operations headquarters” giving a day-by-day account of the “war against dengue”, especially on dengue cases and deaths, and their locations?
Up to now, Malaysians have not been given a full account of the dengue epidemic last year – the final update of the number of dengue cases and dengue deaths, with a detailed breakdown for the different states as compared to previous years.
Was the dengue toll last year 112 deaths or even higher?
Malaysia needs a real “war on dengue” and not a “phoney war” waged by spinmeisters.
If Liow is incapable of spearheading such a war against dengue, then let there be a new Health Minister who is capable of shouldering the task.
#1 by OrangRojak on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 1:14 pm
Perhaps he’s going shopping for an Assured Destruction strike from the regional super-power to eradicate dengue once and for all.
“If we can’t have Malaysia, nobody will”.
#2 by Bobster on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 1:28 pm
Tats how they make a living mah, tok kok sing song sendiwara here and there while the rest of the nation suffer.
To be fair, think Soi Lek makes a much better HM putting aside his controversial private life.
#3 by taiking on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 1:47 pm
Bring back chua soi lek.
Soi lek.
Soi lek.
Soi lek.
Soi lek ten thousand year-old.
#4 by k1980 on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 1:52 pm
Only in this country can we find Health Ministers who are non-medical grads, aa well as Finance Ministers who failed Stats 101 and hence denied entry into the Econs stream
#5 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 1:53 pm
“If Liow is incapable of spearheading such a war against dengue, then let there be a new Health Minister who is capable of shouldering the task”.
The new Health Minister must be healthy.
#6 by OrangRojak on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 2:15 pm
Only in this country can we find Health Ministers who are non-medical grads
And Foreign Ministers who are locals? Defence Ministers who don’t know kung fu? Prime Ministers who are past it? Home Affairs Minister who use hotel rooms for their extra-marital adventures?
Are you sure?
#7 by OrangRojak on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 2:25 pm
Here we go: UK’s Secretary of State for Health – Alan Johnson – left school at 15 to stack shelves at Tesco before becoming a postman at 18 (according to wikipedia). I’m not sure whether that’s a point for you or for me. My German friends all laugh at the UK’s health service, though I’ve never had cause to complain. I suppose the acid test would be whether I’d rather entrust my health to the UK’s Health Service or Malaysia’s Health Service.
#8 by OrangRojak on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 2:31 pm
I’m struggling to understand CSL’s popularity on this blog (perhaps it’s because I didn’t see the video?). If a professional biographer wrote a wikipedia article like CSL’s for me, I’d want my money back.
Hahahahahahaha. Oh, he might be nice bloke, and I should feel sorry for him.
…
Hahahahahahahaha
#9 by undergrad2 on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 2:39 pm
“My German friends all laugh at the UK’s health service, though I’ve never had cause to complain.”
The NHS still had funds when I was living there in the 80s. I hear it is deplete of funds today. My problem with the doctors there is that they practice defensive medicine. Otherwise the ‘cradle to grave’ system works well for the working class.
#10 by waterfrontcoolie on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 3:21 pm
taiking, we read you, you have been Soi Lek’s supporter all along!!
I wonder what’s difference between your hero, compare to this new bloke?? The current environment will not change so long as the taikor is still steering the ship.
Just for the sake of arguement, just name us all the positive things done by your hero while in office!!Fair?
#11 by Yee Siew Wah on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 3:47 pm
Here we have an dengue epidemic and out Home Minister is somewhere thousands of miles away on a trip that does not concern him at all. How amazing indeed!!!
He should not be called a Datuk. A probable word Batok will be more appropriate for this guy.
MCA is NOT relevant anymore since 0308. These bums are just trying to get as much as possible before they disappear into eternity forever. They know their days are numbered.
#12 by OrangRojak on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 4:10 pm
I can’t help but suspect cintanegara will be here soon to suggest CSL is a prospect for swapping sides. The conspiracy theory would suggest he hasn’t done it yet because he is either waiting for enough people to volunteer for the ‘sky change’ so he’s not immediately out of a job, or Pakatan Rakyat are waiting for someone better to volunteer. The positive comments about CSL are to lubricate his passage so that the DAP faithful will find him more palatable when he’s their new champion.
On a more serious note, the occasional suggestions that MCA politicians should transfer their allegiance to DAP is counter-productive, in my opinion. There’s ‘holding out an olive-branch’ and then there’s offering a safety net to people who have failed to act on behalf of the people they claim to represent. What incentive will they have to act as good politicians if their poor performance brings down the government they’re currently part of, and the government-in-waiting offers to them posts?
I realise there’s an issue of numbers in a PR victory, but even if PR doesn’t win the next election, there’s the matter of good governance to consider. If PR tells the BN politicians “You’ve nailed your colours to the mast: if your ship sinks you go down with it”, there’s an incentive to keep the ship afloat. If PR are offering them a personal rescue, they’ve no need to work at all. PR are making gains. If the ‘transfer of allegiance’ plan is to succeed, I think it should have a short shelf-life, after which point the offer should be permanently withdrawn. If the offer is open-ended, a smart (but ultimately useless) minister will wait until the next election to jump ships.
If there really are names on Anwar’s list, they should demonstrate to all Malaysians that they’re politicians of integrity and change camps now. If they’re not doing it now, they won’t be worth having in a new administration: everybody will know they’re politicians for personal gain only.
#13 by Godfather on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 4:56 pm
These guys should have clipped the problem in the bud earlier, but they chose to remain quiet, and to tell the mainstream press not to blow up the problem. We can learn some lessons from the way Singapore tackles the dengue problem.
In Singapore, the moment you are confirmed as a dengue patient, you have to be hospitalised. No recuperation at home, and certainly no moving about as though nothing has happened. They quarantine you until your blood tests negative for dengue or chikugunya, and then they release you. The reason for the quarantine is simple – if a mosquito bites an infected person, then there is no stopping that mosquito from spreading the disease in its locality.
In Bolehland, you have the option to stay in hospital or at home if you are tested positive for dengue. This means the disease continues to be spread unchecked. Chikugunya does not have the persistently high fever symptoms, so infected persons think that it is normal fever and still resume work. The lifespan of a mosquito is something like 30 days. If quarantine procedures are strictly enforced, this disease should die out fairly quickly.
#14 by ttkh on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 6:10 pm
I hope that a mosquito bit him before his badminton game so we could have something like what just happen in KT. Ha Ha
#15 by yhsiew on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 7:38 pm
An incompetent minister merely reflects Pak Lah’s weak leadership.
#16 by One4All4One on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 10:45 pm
Any candidate considered for ministerial position must be thoroughly screened, vetted and scrutinised. The seemingly sole criteria that just because so-and-so is a senior member of a political party, he/she is selected is so out-of-date and not relevant at all. It is just not objective and intelligent enough
Can’t the bases, modes and processes of selection be changed, improved and overhauled according to more effective and objective methods? What do “paradigm shift”, “lateral thinking”, “effective habits of successful people”, and the myriad of “management” courses, seminars, workshops, “leadership” training, etc., etc mean to the people up there??? What are they doing in the ministries and offices???
Events and happenings occurred on the ground, not in the high and polished offices. The people are out there; do the ministers and officials and officers go out there enough to fully know and understand their problems? For goodness sake, make the news, not read about them in the papers.
Just read the papers for what the ministers did, did not do, incapable of doing, have no interest of doing; give them a probationary period, after which they are confirmed in their position or just asked to leave and make room for the next better one. And the appraisal must be made a continuous process to maintain consistency of quality and standards. And to keep the ministers on their toes.
This way we are at least more assured of the “right” candidates. And those who can actually work and are up to mark and have the stamina and commitment to live out or better out-live their term would be assured. No place for lame and opportunistic souls.
The rakyat have to raise their demand. Because we deserve the best.
#17 by raven77 on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 11:28 pm
THe problem is the entire Ministry of Health is one giant dump led by a DG who first needs to have his head screwed on properly……this is a public health problem …….there is no professionalism in this ministry at all…..sleeping to glory and dishing out statistics while everyone was dying of the disease….they were more concerned with looking for Saiful’s little tear rather then this massive public health disaster…..Ministers come and go…..but who the hell put Merican in as DG……….Malaysians will now have pay with their lives for this incompetence…
#18 by raven77 on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 - 11:29 pm
THe problem is the entire Ministry of Health is one giant dump led by a DG who first needs to have his head examined properly……this is a public health problem …….there is no professionalism in this ministry at all…..these buggers were sleeping to glory and dishing out statistics while everyone was dying of the disease….they were more concerned with looking for Saiful’s little tear rather then this massive public health disaster…..Ministers come and go…..but who the hell put this lunatic called Merican in as DG……….Malaysians will now have pay with their lives for this incompetence…
#19 by lbl on Wednesday, 21 January 2009 - 8:05 pm
I stay in PJ Old Town along Jalan 1/19,which is dengue prone. The drains around my house is clogged and dirty.
I think the drains should be cleaned before the authorites think of other methods to combat dengue.
Are they fogging the correct concentration around the houses. No point of fogging , using the incorrect dosage which will make the mosquitoes resistant to the chemicals used.
Heaps of rubbish can be seen along the roadside which the rubbish collectors have refused to collect because the rubbish are not placed in proper containers.
When you have poor enforcements, even the best method will not give results.