Editor’s note: This is the second part of an article published earlier on FocusM titled “COVID-19 vaccines’ expiry date can be extended… really?” where the author questioned the extension given to the shelf life of available vaccines.
ALLOW me to take you back to the COVID-19 quarantine centre that the non-governmental organisation (NGO) had wanted to set up. At a time when the country was in a state of emergency due to the virulence of the Delta variant, the B40s had no place they could go for COVID-19-related assistance.
The said NGO went through three months of being stonewalled. I was told – much to my horror – that there were seven or eight agencies checking on the suitability of hotels to be set up as quarantine centres.
Under business-as-usual circumstances, the inspection by these agencies is supposed to ensure safety of the building before it can be used for a specific purpose. However, this is a state of emergency, and three months was far too long to wait.
The NGO claimed that they had wanted to set up the quarantine centre in Kuala Lumpur as Selangor did not give them the greenlight earlier.
Of course, with a direct access to Dr Siti, I only had to send her a text message to ask, and she immediately said she did not know about it.
After all, the NGO could not produce a letter that showed they had applied to the state government for permission to set up the centre. However, I am inclined to trust Dr Siti’s words.
After nearly two weeks of helping Dr Siti and the NGO to swing the COVID-19 quarantine centre to Selangor (because she was desperately asking for it), I found a hotel and another row of shop lots offered by two different Tan Sris. Everyone was willing to assist in their own capacity.
It was then that two health officers dropped a bombshell asking the two private hospitals to provide a letter of indemnity.
I was told by the NGO’s coordinator that the hospitals had immediately withdrew their support, and they were already at the verge of dropping the whole project.
When told about this to Dr Noor Hisham, it was surprising to know that he would not even budge or help solve the problem at the ministry level. I do not want to go into disputes with him, but he should know what he could have done to resolve the issue.
After all, even public hospitals would not offer any indemnity as we were at a time when the Delta variant was virulent. So, why should a private hospital be asked to provide a letter of indemnity in the first place?
My last resort was to appeal to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong via a Youtube post (my first public appearance) urging His Majesty to look into the plight of the B40 who had no place to go to seek COVID-19-related help.
Here was an NGO already with its sponsors, financial and manpower support, but they were faced with all the bureaucratic red tapes just set up the COVID-19 quarantine centre for the B40.
This, of course, caught the attention of a cabinet minister who communicated with then Federal Territories minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa who asked the cabinet minister to provide me with his personal contact number.
The rest, as they say, is history. The next day, I was told that Annuar had called for a meeting with all the agencies, including the Health Department and the NGO. Within just a few hours, everything went smoothly.
On the very next day I read that this hotel was included in the list of quarantine centres that was set up by the Federal Territories Ministry.
Yet, when I requested that a B40 positive case in Selangor be placed there temporarily so that his mother, wife and sister can feel safe in the same apartment, the NGO claimed that they cannot take anyone from Selangor. Why?
My friends and I ended up sponsoring a hotel room in Bandar Sunway for the family, and only after Subang Jaya state assemblyman, Michelle Ng’s team had sanitised the apartment did we allow them to return.
Did Dr Noor Hisham know all this? Of course, he did.
I have chosen not to engage with him privately to solve issues these days, when it could have been done privately. Instead, I have to bring this to the forefront. This is not done to shame him but to ask him to do some self-reflection as someone who is in public service.
Meanwhile, I will hold back my frustrations and let others tell of their experiences of hospital bullying and other related issues affecting the management of our public health system. – Jan 12, 2023
Stephen Ng
Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main photo credit: Health Ministry
