DEPUTY HEALTH MINISTER DATUK SERI DR HILMI'S PERSONAL OPINION ON TAN SRI ISMAIL MERICAN STATEMENT
I have read with interest comments by my good friend Tan Sri Ismail Merican. We have similar background, we both are from Penang, and we went to the same university, MU. Of course he is my senior. Tan Sri had a very illustrious carrier. Imagine, as far I can remember he is the only one who was appointed a DG of Health Ministry after his retirement.
I agree with him totally on the issue of vaccination. We are going backwards in efforts to manage communicable diseases. We spend more than RM 100 m each year to provide immunisation to all of our children. Imagine, the ones that reject immunisation for their children are those educated people, some even from universities. The rejection is on the uptrend, They even manage to convince many others to follow them. Many reasons are given, side effects, religious as well.
I have been saying many times and even replied in Parliament that a vaccine that the Ministry of Health is using has no porcine DNA. This is the problem when we have so many Dr Google among us. They read the internet and that's it, they follow whatever is written there. They make their own conclusion without expert opinion from our health specialists. One simple logic. The vaccines have undergone so much clinical trials by experts. They will never be used in this country if they are proven unsafe.
These people are being selfish in a way. When they were young they received the immunisation. Their parents never rejected it. That is why I presume they remain healthy and able to have their own children. When their turn comes they choose to deny their children the protection from immunisation. This is unthinkable. They are denying the rights of their children to a healthy life free from communicable diseases. What is even worse they are also putting the general population at risk due to lack of herd immunity.
I agree we have to do more to convince this so called educated group of people to understand the danger faced by their children and the general public. So far the fatwa on the use of the vaccines is HARUS. We are in the process of engaging JAKIM, Women's ministry and other relevant agencies on the way forward. One thing that can be done immediately is to have JAKIM to write a khutbah for Friday prayers.
On the other issue, about women doctors attending to O & G cases, this is not new. Every now and then this issue will be raised by certain groups. These are the idealists. They want women to attend to women. This subject was posed to me by a reporter when I visited the maternity wad in Hospital Balik Pulau. Somehow, it became big news. The reporter wrote what she thought was true. Anyway let me tell you, in my 25 years in politics, when politicians including yours truly try to make corrections on any press report, it will either not get printed or it will appear in very small prints. I chose not to. Of course I know very well that it will attract a lot of debate in the media.
Let us examine the current situation in government hospitals. There are 172 female and 134 male O & G specialists in the whole country as of December 2015. Last yr alone 15 of them left govt service for better pasture.
We do increase the number of Masters scholarships to 1000 each year since last year. The uptake is good so far but at the same time many will leave us. This means that it will take sometime for the country to achieve adequate no of female O & G specialists in govt service. When that happens our young mothers will have the luxury to chose their preferred female specialist. Of course there will also be many male specialists working with their female counter part. In times of emergency, you cannot choose Tan Sri Ismail Merican, whoever is available will have to attend to the case.
The way the report was written gave the impression that Deputy Health Minister has abandoned his oath to the medical profession. I am still a doctor. Certainly we cannot make it mandatory that only female doctors will treat female patients. It may apply to elective cases but not during emergency.
Hope Tan Sri is clear by now.
Datuk Seri Dr. Hilmi Yahaya
Deputy Minister Of Health, Malaysia,
Ministry of Health, Malaysia 3rd July 2016
Media Statement
Mon Jul 04 2016
Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya (R) replies to Tan Sri Ismail Merican (L) on health related issues brought up by the former health director-general.
Warga Australia dipindahkan, lega pulang ke tanah air
Warga Australia yang dipindahkan dari New Caledonia yang mengalami rusuhan maut selama seminggu. memberitahu media tempatan mereka lega sebaik sahaja kembali ke tanah air pada Selasa.
Menteri ada rekod jenayah letak jawatan
Seorang Menteri Thailand, Pichit Chuenban, pada Selasa meletakkan jawatan selepas tertakluk kepada aduan undang-undang daripada senator yang boleh membawa kepada pemecatan Perdana Menteri Thailand, Srettha Thavisin atas pelantikannya.
Keranda bawa jenazah Raisi tiba di Tehran
Pegawai dan tokoh agama Iran menerima keranda Presiden Iran, Ebrahim Raisi dan beberapa individu lain di Tehran, dalam satu majlis pada Selasa.
PMX ke Jepun bermula Rabu, pertama kali sertai Persidangan Nikkei sebagai Perdana Menteri
Wisma Putra dalam kenyataan pada Selasa memaklumkan, PM Anwar menyertai persidangan tersebut atas jemputan Nikkei Inc. dan ia merupakan penyertaan pertama beliau sebagai Perdana Menteri.
Beri tumpuan kepada pelaburan dalam negeri - Dr Jomo
Kerajaan perlu memberi galakkan kepada pelaburan dalam negeri dalam usaha memacu pertumbuhan ekonomi negara.
Mat Sabu wakili Malaysia ke Iran, hadiri pengebumian Presiden Raisi
Menteri Pertanian dan Keterjaminan Makanan, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu akan ke Iran bagi mewakili Malaysia untuk menghadiri pengebumian Presiden Iran, Almarhum Ebrahim Raisi.
Tumpuan Rabu – 22 Mei 2024
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan di Astro AWANI.
Jemaah Menteri setuju laksanakan penyasaran subsidi diesel
Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim berkata, keputusan itu tidak melibatkan pengguna Sabah dan Sarawak kerana penduduk di sana kebanyakannya menggunakan diesel untuk urusan seharian.
Kerajaan bakal jimat RM4 bilion setahun
Jelas Perdana Menteri, dengan penyasaran subsidi diesel tersebut, jumlah penjimatan kepada kerajaan adalah dijangka sekitar 4 bilion ringgit setahun.
Satu langkah berani diambil kerajaan
Penasihat Penyelidikan Khazanah Research Institute, Prof Dr Jomo Kwame Sundaram menyifatkan pelaksanaan penyasaran subsidi ke atas bahan api termasuk diesel disifatkan satu langkah berani diambil kerajaan pimpinan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Tiada hospital baharu di Balik Pulau, kata Menteri Kesihatan
Dr Dzulkefly berkata pembinaan hospital baharu Balik Pulau itu sebenarnya adalah janji sahaja daripada seorang ahli politik kerajaan terdahulu dan tidak pernah tersenarai dalam RMK11.
BN yakin pertahan Parlimen Balik Pulau
Beliau berkata keyakinan itu berdasarkan faktor pertambahan pengundi dan parti komponen BN yang bekerja keras serta agresif untuk mendapatkan sokongan lebih ramai pengundi.
Yakin raih tambahan sokongan pengundi Cina - Dr Hilmi
UMNO dan Barisan Nasional (BN) Pulau Pinang yakin akan meraih tambahan undi daripada pengundi Cina pada PRU14 nanti.
Tiada cadangan jadikan ketum ubat tahan sakit, rawat penagihan dadah - Dr Hilmi
Kementerian Kesihatan tidak bercadang untuk menjadikan ketum sebagai ubat penahan sakit dan rawatan penagihan dadah.
Profesion kejururawatan Malaysia diiktiraf di peringkat dunia
Profesion kejururawatan negara ini diiktiraf di peringkat dunia apabila keupayaan dan kemahiran jururawat Malaysia diterima baik.
Nelayan lega kerajaan persekutuan tegas tangani isu tambak laut
Ketegasan kerajaan persekutuan dalam menangani isu tambak laut di negeri ini telah memberikan kelegaan besar kepada penduduk di sini.
Kementerian Kesihatan tambah 500 ambulans tahun depan - Dr Hilmi
Timbalan Menteri Kesihatan, Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya berkata daripada jumlah itu, 120 ambulans akan diagihkan ke hospital dan klinik di Sabah dan Sarawak.
Wad Diraja HSA belum digunakan kerana belum ada keperluan- Hilmi
Hospital sementara Angkatan Tentera Malaysia telah ditempatkan di perkarangan HSA yang menumpukan kepada kes rawatan kecemasan dan mula beroperasi Isnin lalu.
Perpindahan pesakit di bangunan induk Hospital Sultanah Aminah selesai - Dr Hilmi
Bagi memastikan operasi hospital terbabit tidak terjejas, pakar-pakar dan pasukan dari HSA akan dibawa untuk membantu merawat pesakit yang dipindahkan.
'Tiada cadangan gantung syarikat konsesi HSA' - Dr Hilmi
Kerajaan tidak bercadang menggantung perkhidmatan syarikat konsesi perkhidmatan sokongan hospital, Medivest Sdn Bhd sepanjang tempoh siasatan terhadap kebakaran yang berlaku di HSA.