Gombak orang asli hospital director replaced
the Sun, KUALA LUMPUR (June 7, 2010): Changes are afoot at the Orang Asli Affairs Department (JHEOA) hospital in Gombak here, which was earlier dogged by allegations of mismanagement and providing poor healthcare for the orang asli.
In the latest twist to the chain of events which was sparked by a doctor's allegations against the then hospital's management - theSun has learnt that hospital director Dr Akmal Dahaman is being replaced, effective June 1, after less than three months on the job.
Akmal is believed to have taken time off to further his studies. His successor however has yet to be named and a source told theSun that an acting-director is in place to handle the hospital's day-to-day affairs.
Akmal was promoted to hospital director in March this year, taking over from Dr Saaiah Abdullah.
Subsequently, theSun reported that there were concerns raised by hospital staff, based on Akmal's "track record" during eight years of service as a doctor at the hospital. However, he was then unavailable for comment.
In a related development, a source told the newspaper that the hospital's outpatient unit has been closed down for "outsiders" - namely non-orang asli patients residing around Gombak who used to make use of services at the hospital.
Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) councillor Datuk Siva Subramaniam who in March initiated an investigation into the allegations raised, noted that the orang asli community feels "threatened" as the institution which was originally built to cater for their needs has since strayed from its path and taken over by people from outside their community.
The hospital's state-of-affairs has been the subject of media attention following allegations of orang asli receiving sub-standard health care treatment due to a purported mismanagement by Saaiah which was exposed by Dr Selvaa Vathany Pillai, a former medical-officer at the hospital.
It has been at least four months since the case first made headlines following Selvaa's participation in a press conference held at Bar Council on Feb 11.
Since then, there has been demands from various bodies including Suhakam and Malaysian Medical Association for investigations to be conducted by Health Ministry and ultimately implement changes that would improve the state of orang asli healthcare system.
Meanwhile, the leader of an orang asli group that staged a protest at hospital here on Feb 24 has came out in defence of Selvaa, who received a show-cause letter from the JHEOA for her alleged participation in the affair.
theSun previously reported that Selvaa, who is now based in Kedah, received the letter on April 19 for participating in a press conference held at the Bar Council on Feb 11 and for taking part in a subsequent protest led by Sokyen Man.
Sokyen has since told theSun that Selvaa was "never involved with the staged protest."
"The idea for the protest came solely from the orang asli after we went for the press conference at Bar Council on Feb 11," explained Sokyen.
Sokyen also questioned the reason behind Selvaa's show-cause letter -- as well as three other letters which theSun learnt had been issued by JHEOA from between February and April to the hospital's orang asli staff who attended the Bar Council press conference.
Recipients of the other three show-cause letters issued by JHEOA have apparently replied but there has been no further response from the department. Selvaa herself had refused to reply to the show-cause letter, saying it should have come from a higher authority.
The Malaysian Medical Association president David Quek in a statement on Friday said that both the show-cause letter and transfer order are signs that Selvaa has possibly been "victimised and punished unfairly" for her actions.
Quek also called upon the JHEOA and Health Ministry to stop using the civil service general orders as a tool to intimidate whistle-blowing government officers.
Attempts at contacting JHEOA for comment were unsuccessful.
JHEOA's director-general Datuk Sani Mistam and most recently Rural and Regional Development Ministry Deputy Minister Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun have on separate occasions reportedly denied all allegations lodged against the hospital management. -- theSun
Showing posts with label Dr Selvaa Vathany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dr Selvaa Vathany. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
TheSun: Whistle-blowing doctor should be protected: MMA
Whistle-blowing doctor should be protected: MMA
By: By Alyaa Alhadjri (Sun, 06 Jun 2010)
KUALA LUMPUR (June 6, 2010): The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has broken its
silence and come out in support of the doctor who exposed the plight of orang asli patients at
Orang Asli Affairs Department (JHEOA) hospital in Gombak.
MMA president Dr David Quek said the MMA views with "grave concern" the fact that Dr Selvaa Vathany Pillai (pix) continues to face personal inquiries following her allegations against the hospital's management.
"We recognise the right of Dr Selvaa to act as a responsible and caring doctor. She has shown great personal conviction and concern about her role as doctor to an often marginalised minority group in the country, the orang asli," he said in a statement yesterday.
"That she should place herself in possible jeopardy with regards to her position is to say the least, humanitarian and selfless," he added.
theSun previously reported that Selvaa was transfered by the Health Ministry to a hospital in Kedah in March.
She was also investigated by the Rural and Regional Development Ministry and subsequently, received a show-cause letter from JHEOA on April 19.
These occurred in the wake of a press conference held at Bar Council office on Feb 11 at which she made public the allegations agiant the hospital's management.
Quek said that both the show-cause letter and transfer order is a sign that Dr Selvaa has possibly been "victimised and punished unfairly" for her actions.
"Her whistle-blowing regarding possible mismanagement and procedural opacities in the JHEOA hospital must be seen in the light of her noble intentions and empathy to help improve the plight and healthcare of the orang asli," he said.
Quek said that Selvaa's allegations should spur JHEOA and Health Ministry to initiate a full investigation and find a solution for problems.
He said by resolving such problems, the various departments involved would dispel misgivings related to the inefficiency and possible corruption in the healthcare system.
"Such transparency would enhance the image of the government, especially in this era of wanting to transform the economy and the country," he said.
Quek also called upon the authorities to stop using the civil service general orders as a tool to intimidate government officers who exposed shortcomings within the service.
"This is important because such perceived actions would thwart potential whistle-blowers and others from doing the ethical thing in the medical profession," he said. -- theSun
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By: By Alyaa Alhadjri (Sun, 06 Jun 2010)
KUALA LUMPUR (June 6, 2010): The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has broken its
silence and come out in support of the doctor who exposed the plight of orang asli patients at
Orang Asli Affairs Department (JHEOA) hospital in Gombak.
MMA president Dr David Quek said the MMA views with "grave concern" the fact that Dr Selvaa Vathany Pillai (pix) continues to face personal inquiries following her allegations against the hospital's management.
"We recognise the right of Dr Selvaa to act as a responsible and caring doctor. She has shown great personal conviction and concern about her role as doctor to an often marginalised minority group in the country, the orang asli," he said in a statement yesterday.
"That she should place herself in possible jeopardy with regards to her position is to say the least, humanitarian and selfless," he added.
theSun previously reported that Selvaa was transfered by the Health Ministry to a hospital in Kedah in March.
She was also investigated by the Rural and Regional Development Ministry and subsequently, received a show-cause letter from JHEOA on April 19.
These occurred in the wake of a press conference held at Bar Council office on Feb 11 at which she made public the allegations agiant the hospital's management.
Quek said that both the show-cause letter and transfer order is a sign that Dr Selvaa has possibly been "victimised and punished unfairly" for her actions.
"Her whistle-blowing regarding possible mismanagement and procedural opacities in the JHEOA hospital must be seen in the light of her noble intentions and empathy to help improve the plight and healthcare of the orang asli," he said.
Quek said that Selvaa's allegations should spur JHEOA and Health Ministry to initiate a full investigation and find a solution for problems.
He said by resolving such problems, the various departments involved would dispel misgivings related to the inefficiency and possible corruption in the healthcare system.
"Such transparency would enhance the image of the government, especially in this era of wanting to transform the economy and the country," he said.
Quek also called upon the authorities to stop using the civil service general orders as a tool to intimidate government officers who exposed shortcomings within the service.
"This is important because such perceived actions would thwart potential whistle-blowers and others from doing the ethical thing in the medical profession," he said. -- theSun
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Original Press Release:
Dr Selvaa Vathany & JHEOA
MMA Press Release 4 June 2010
The MMA views with grave concern that Dr Selvaa Vathany continues to be facing more personal inquiries/investigations, with the latest being a show-cause letter from the JHEOA.
We recognise the right of Dr Selvaa Vathany to act as a responsible and caring doctor. She has shown great personal conviction and concern about her role as a doctor to a group of often marginalised minority in our country, the Orang Asli.
That she should place herself in possible jeopardy with regards her position and work in the Ministry of Health is to say the least, humanitarian and selfless.
Her whistle-blowing regarding possible mismanagement and procedural opacities in the JHEOA hospital where she had previously been working, must be seen in the light of her noble intentions and empathy to help improve the plight and healthcare of the Orang Asli. This is particularly ironic because just in January this year, we have passed the Whistleblower Protection Act in Parliament.
As Dr Selvaa has rightfully obtained statutory declarations (SDs) to add weight to her convictions of possible wrongdoings of the many issues raised, this should not be used as a pretext to find fault with her noble actions.
Instead, this should spur the JHEOA and the MOH to fully investigate her complaints and quickly resolve whichever problems that have been long-ingrained in the system, which had caused such a systemic failure for the Orang Asli community (as fully documented by SUHAKAM previously).
By quickly resolving such possible problems, the various departments involved would be helping to dispel serious misgivings as to the inefficiency and possible corruption of the ground-level practices.
Such transparency would enhance the image of the government especially in this era of wanting to transform the economy and the country, as so strongly propounded by the Prime Minister, YAB Dato' Sri Najib Razak. The MMA fully supports the GTP (government transformation plans) initiatives, which must be seen to be more of a paradigm shift in practice rather than mere sloganeering.
Therefore, the MMA is seriously concerned that Dr Selvaa has been possibly victimised and punished unfairly, by
1) being swiftly transferred off to another state by the MOH; and
2) the show-cause demand letter to explain her actions by the JHEOA;
just because she had taken the trouble and had staked her personal courage of conviction to pursue some causes which have raised concerns for some of the possibly errant authorities/officers.
Instead, we urge the Minister of Health and the government, to help resolve this issue quickly, by instituting a full inquiry and investigations into these allegations. We also urge the authorities not to use the general orders of civil service to possibly intimidate officers who mean well by their humanitarian and caring actions.
This is important because, such perceived actions would thwart potential whistle-blowers and well-wishers from doing the right and ethical thing when practising their medical professionalism vis-a-vis their charges, i.e. their patients.
Doctors are exhorted to be the patients' most ardent advocate, and we continue to believe that Dr Selvaa Vathany has shown just such an example.
Dr David KL Quek
MMA President
MMA Press Release 4 June 2010
The MMA views with grave concern that Dr Selvaa Vathany continues to be facing more personal inquiries/investigations, with the latest being a show-cause letter from the JHEOA.
We recognise the right of Dr Selvaa Vathany to act as a responsible and caring doctor. She has shown great personal conviction and concern about her role as a doctor to a group of often marginalised minority in our country, the Orang Asli.
That she should place herself in possible jeopardy with regards her position and work in the Ministry of Health is to say the least, humanitarian and selfless.
Her whistle-blowing regarding possible mismanagement and procedural opacities in the JHEOA hospital where she had previously been working, must be seen in the light of her noble intentions and empathy to help improve the plight and healthcare of the Orang Asli. This is particularly ironic because just in January this year, we have passed the Whistleblower Protection Act in Parliament.
As Dr Selvaa has rightfully obtained statutory declarations (SDs) to add weight to her convictions of possible wrongdoings of the many issues raised, this should not be used as a pretext to find fault with her noble actions.
Instead, this should spur the JHEOA and the MOH to fully investigate her complaints and quickly resolve whichever problems that have been long-ingrained in the system, which had caused such a systemic failure for the Orang Asli community (as fully documented by SUHAKAM previously).
By quickly resolving such possible problems, the various departments involved would be helping to dispel serious misgivings as to the inefficiency and possible corruption of the ground-level practices.
Such transparency would enhance the image of the government especially in this era of wanting to transform the economy and the country, as so strongly propounded by the Prime Minister, YAB Dato' Sri Najib Razak. The MMA fully supports the GTP (government transformation plans) initiatives, which must be seen to be more of a paradigm shift in practice rather than mere sloganeering.
Therefore, the MMA is seriously concerned that Dr Selvaa has been possibly victimised and punished unfairly, by
1) being swiftly transferred off to another state by the MOH; and
2) the show-cause demand letter to explain her actions by the JHEOA;
just because she had taken the trouble and had staked her personal courage of conviction to pursue some causes which have raised concerns for some of the possibly errant authorities/officers.
Instead, we urge the Minister of Health and the government, to help resolve this issue quickly, by instituting a full inquiry and investigations into these allegations. We also urge the authorities not to use the general orders of civil service to possibly intimidate officers who mean well by their humanitarian and caring actions.
This is important because, such perceived actions would thwart potential whistle-blowers and well-wishers from doing the right and ethical thing when practising their medical professionalism vis-a-vis their charges, i.e. their patients.
Doctors are exhorted to be the patients' most ardent advocate, and we continue to believe that Dr Selvaa Vathany has shown just such an example.
Dr David KL Quek
MMA President
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