It is beyond belief that Malaysia is contemplating the use of nuclear power yet again. Have we not learnt from those catastrophic nuclear disasters.

Rising oil prices does not justify the use of nuclear power. In fact, it may cost more to maintain nuclear power plants. It is also hardly environmentally friendly when nuclear waste materials remain radioactive for hundreds of years.

Does Malaysia have ambitions to possess nuclear weaponry?

The bottomline is that Malaysians should be against nuclear power. There are other ways of generating clean energy. Perhaps this should be the challenge of engineering minds.

Nuclear power is not the solution.

You would have thought that healthcare workers would have been well versed with universal precautions. In this era of HIV/AIDS and other infectious pandemics, it would only be logical to think that healthcare workers would want to protect themselves especially when they are at risk in their daily routines.

Unfortunately, many still do not practise the basics of such precautions eg the wearing of gloves and the proper disposal of needles. It should have been an automatic response after years in medical schools. Sadly, doctors still decide not to wear gloves and incorrectly disposing needles putting them and others at extreme risk of needle stick injuries.

Safety of healthcare personnel should always supercede that of patients. If one cannot protect oneself from harm, the job of helping others becomes precarious.

These are habits that should be instilled early in medical education. The adage that old habits die hard is perhaps true. Unlearning a habit can be a mammoth task. Therefore medical students should be reprimanded if caught flouting rules meant to protect them. Anything less will do no justice to their future.

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Religion is an important aspect of most individuals. It is a source of inspiration, a guide to daily living and our connection to the spiritual world. Some believe so fervently that everything else is secondary. Such piety may be seen as spiritual maturity. However, when it clouds basic judgements, is God really behind it all?

Such examples of healing prayer in an individual displaying classical cardiac chest pains. Or perhaps hoping that a mysterious breast lump is "cured". Such are actual case scenarios.

Some may describe me as a religious renegade but there are occasions when common sense should prevail. This is the wisdom that God has given us and we should use them. It disturbs me that educated individuals succumb to beliefs of miraculous cures of biblical proportions when facing a serious health threat. Perhaps some cases of miracles are indeed true but how often are they actually happening?

Or have I not been going to church often enough?

Ever remember your first PC? I guess I was lucky enough to have one in my primary school days. The monitor screen was green and it ran on MS DOS. No luxury of WINDOWS at that time. It had no hard drives and it had to be booted with floppy disks. Yes they were very floppy and not to mention large. After you have started your computer and it had the a> prompt, you could then remove the startup disk before inserting your program disk.

One of my first word processors was WordStar. There was no power of WYSIWYG and you had to visualise your document from a sea of codes. Often times, your print out is not what is desired.

We have certainly come a long way since. Using a computer is now a breeze. One would imagine how it will be like in another 25 years. The high tech gadgets of today may be frowned upon tomorrow.

Recent events in East Malaysia sends out a disturbing signal on Malaysia's capabilities in the event of an infectious disease disaster. As the hand, foot and mouth disease(HFMD) ravages through Sarawak with a reported total of 13,200 infections this year, one cannot help but question if the authorities are doing enough to curb a widening catastrophe. With epidemics of deadly infectious diseases, in particular, bird flu, in neighbouring countries, one would expect extreme vigilance and adequate preparedness in the face of an impending disaster of staggering proportions.

We may have everything laid out on paper but how are we faring on the ground? Are our responses going to be swift, well organised and precise? Or will we falter into confusion, haphazardness and panic?

Being in a tertiary center only highlights a surprisingly lackaidaisical atmosphere. Perhaps the threat is not taken seriously enough. If an infectious disease epidemic was to occur today, our Infectious disease teams will be stretched to its very limits perhaps till breaking point. There will be confusion as to roles to be played. A delayed response may not only prove fatal to patients but health workers alike, making them sacrificial pawns.

Health authorities need to infuse a certain level of attentiveness in its frontline staff. Drills, briefings and continuing education should be routine. Failure to do so only invites doom.