MMA agrees with Health Ministry’s approach in handling Covid-19

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Dr Koh Kar Chai

KUCHING (Jan 11): The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) agrees with the Ministry of Health’s approach in handling the Covid-19 situation in the country through mitigation.

MMA president Dr Koh Kar Chai said in order for Malaysia to move forward, the people must learn to live with the virus with full vaccination, boosters and strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) until the threat of Covid-19 no longer exists.

He disagreed with Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing’s recent criticism, where the latter had questioned the Ministry of Health’s credentials in managing the pandemic.

“MMA acknowledges the fact that there had been times during the management of the pandemic where our country could have done better, and we had indeed called out the government before on the way it managed the pandemic.

“However, a Health director-general (DG) does not necessarily have to be a public health expert to be able to formulate policies to manage the pandemic effectively.

“We believe Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah regularly consults a team of public health experts within his ministry and would also likely be engaging with international experts on managing the pandemic, given his role as the Health DG of Malaysia,” he said in a statement.

Dr Koh said the same could be said about Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, who is advised by experts before any decision on policies could be made.

“I must say that for a non-medical Health Minister, we think he is performing exceptionally well. In fact, both the Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin and Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah have been instrumental in bringing the pandemic under control in the country.

“It hasn’t been easy as we’re initially faced with many challenges in our healthcare system, especially last year when the system was overwhelmed. But thanks to a successful National Vaccination Programme, we are seeing less severe cases of Covid-19 and the number of cases are now manageable,” he said.

It should also be noted that some developed countries had struggled with managing Covid-19 situation, said Dr Koh.

“Some of these countries are still struggling with issues such as a low compliance with public health measures and low vaccination rates.

“The situation in China is very different. They may be able to afford lockdowns but we simply can’t. Not anymore as it will be too damaging to our economy,” he said.

Tiong, in a Facebook post uploaded on Jan 9, had praised China for their way in handling the pandemic, while questioning the capabilities of Khairy and Dr Noor Hisham.

He had also questioned Dr Noor Hisham’s background and expertise as a surgeon and not in the field of public health.