The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should appoint a new Health Minister if Datuk Liow Tiong Lai is incapable of being an effective commander-in-chief in an all-out war against the worsening dengue epidemic to check continuing avoidable loss of lives.

In contrast to his long protracted silence on the dengue epidemic last year, which had recorded the highest number of 49,335 dengue cases and 112 dengue deaths in the nation’s history, Liow has been making weekly statements on the dengue epidemic this year.

The Health Minister’s weekly statements about the dengue epidemic however does not constitute an all-out war against dengue and will do nothing to save lives and mitigate suffering.

Liow has squandered his 10 months as Health Minister in indifference and inaction over the dengue epidemic last year when right from the beginning he should have spearheaded an all-war against the dengue epidemic, inspired by the motto that an avoidable dengue death is one death too many.

Over 50 per cent of the 112 lives lost to dengue last year were preventable, which make Liow’s failures all the more deplorable. Read the rest of this entry »