Wishing all a great holiday!

There is an upsurge of complaints against hospitals of late. Although some lack logic, it is the staff that were allegedly involved that usually bear the brunt of internal investigations. There are many patients and their families, that confuse hospitals with hotels.

Let me illustrate a case where an asthmatic presented to the Emergency Department in acute bronchospasm. After several rounds of nebulised medications and a dose of steriods, she recovered with the reversal of bronchospasm. Unfortunately, because of the haze, she has requested to stay in hospital despite being told that she was fit to go home. However, as the bed situation was extremely tight, the admitting officer could not fulfil her request. She was advised to use regular nebulisers and discharged on a tapering dose of steriods. She was also asked to wear a face mask when outdoors.

She then proceeded to ask for a referral letter to a nearby private hospital for which the admitting officer obliged. She was then discharged from the hospital.

Several days later, a complaint went to the Director of the hospital demanding that the hospital bear the charges of the private admission. It was claimed that the hospital had refused to admit the patient but instead referred her to the private hospital.

On the day of the alleged event, there was a mutual understanding between the patient and the admitting officer, that the arrangement was in the best interest of the patient. Moreover, due to the lack of beds, waiting in the Emergency Department for hours may not be in the best interest of the patient.

The argument is that the admiting officer has a prerrogative of deciding which patients need admission NOT the patient. There was a follow up plan and advice to the patient should her condition worsen. On top of that, the request for a referral letter to a private institution was at the request of the patient NOT the decision of the admitting officer.

To return now and allege that the officer refused to admit the patient but was instead referred to another hospital is defamatory and spiced with malicious intent.

It is only hoped that the administrative officials defend the actions of the admitting officer and not succumb to pressures of an impending litigation. This is tantamount to blackmail.

From The NST

Students produce paper from durian skin Koh Lay Chin KUALA LUMPUR, Sat. Paper made from durian skin and styrofoam handicrafts? The environment was clearly on the minds of students who participated in the Science and Technology Carnival and Competition at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Wangsa Melawati yesterday. cont..

Was rather impressed that secondary school students could actually make paper out of durian skin. Bravo! Keep up the good work. It may be wise to follow up on the idea and the students could be tapping a gold mine!

The annual UMNO meeting recently has been a fiery one from the reimplementation of the NEP to the controversies of the issuance of APs. The rhetoric of the Malay agenda has been strengthening as the years roll on. In comparison, the tone in the MCA meetings running concurrently is much more mellow.

The talk of reintroducing the NEP to me is disturbing. Despite years of protectionist policies, the Malays are claimed to remain second to minority races in Malaysia. This is perhaps true when we take Malays across the board i.e. both rural and urban Malays. The undeniable demographic fact remains that more Malays populate rural communities. Rural communities will definitely have a lesser earning power and have less access to infrastructure so easily available in more urban settings. So when national statistics are drawn involving all Malays, the obvious discrepancy is perpetually present.

I agree that we need to raise the standards of living of Malays especially in rural communities. However, the challenge of ensuring that aid reaches those that are truly in need remains. The NEP has been exploited by many for personal gains. Reassurances that this will not happen again should be taken with a grain of salt. There is no concrete plan as to how "leaks" can be avoided when this policy is reimplemented.

Abolishing meritocracy is a step backward. There is only one meaning of meritocracy in this globalised world. Clinging on the the Malaysian mould of meritocracy is foolish and damages the credibility of Malaysian institutions. It will only make future generations more dependant on aid, as already evident in the youths of today.

Maintaining protectionist policies is racist in itself. Depriving one race of certain rights is racist.

Meaning of RACIST
Definition:

1. [n] a person with a prejudiced belief that one race is superior to others
2. [adj] discriminatory especially on the basis of race or religion
3. [adj] based on racial intolerance; "racist remarks"

Perhaps UMNO would like to change the definition of racist as well when they mentioned that NEP is not racist. I beg to differ.

Ultimately, it inevitably leaves many disenchanted. A dream when we can truly call Malaysia, our country, is shattered. Even in medicine, policies of the NEP have culminated in the derecognition of University of Malaya'a medical degree by the General Medical Council, UK and the downward spiral in the quality of medical graduates of today. Malaysia stands to lose in the long run. More talents will be lost and can potentially destroy a country that supposedly prides itself as being multiracial.