YOURSAY | Adham has the entire arsenal of doctors to advise him and this is what he can come up with?

Health minister’s Covid-19 prevention tip doesn’t hold water

Kim Quek: Newly-appointed Health Minister Adham Baba, who is a medical doctor, has proven himself to be a medical ignoramus.

Worse, through his faux pas against China, he is also shown himself to be a naïve politician and a potential diplomatic disaster for the government.

What a horrible manifestation of the qualities of this backdoor Perikatan Nasional (PN) government under the leadership of the backdoor prime minister, Muhyiddin Yassin.

Quo Vadis: How unprofessional can the professionals be. How unhelpful and even dangerous can unsupported unprofessional advice become when mouthed by professionals to give a misleading semblance of authority and legitimacy.

We do not need this in the current national crisis.

Quigonbond: Adham has the entire arsenal of doctors to advise him and this is the quack health advice he can come up with?

He's also trying to score some brownie points emphasising that it was "his" idea to link local medical researches with the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop a Covid-19 vaccine. I mean, seriously, do you need to take credit for such an idea?

Clever Voter: To be fair, it is rare to have a politician who is well qualified to take on the health minister’s job.

The current minister continues to make a fool of himself in both public relations and engagement. He is becoming another version of Raja Bomoh. Except this minister does not have a pair of coconuts and bamboo binoculars.

Just a Malaysian: Former health minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Birmingham and a master's degree from the University of Surrey. He later completed his doctorate in toxicology from the Imperial College (St Mary's Hospital Medical School) in 1993.

Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye is a certified cardiologist. He graduated from medical school in 1985 from the Universiti Malaya. He also holds two post-graduate degrees, a master of medicine from University Kebangsaan Malaysia and membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians from UK.

Former deputy prime minister and former head of the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail studied medicine at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland where she was awarded a gold medal in obstetrics and gynaecology, and she later graduated as a qualified ophthalmologist.

Dr Adham Baba graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) from Universiti Malaya in 1987.

Well, this is the level of competency between Pakatan Harapan and PN ministers.

Roger 5201: “Because they, who are responsible for exporting the coronavirus to other countries, have a large social responsibility in this world,” said Adham.

This statement sounds as ludicrous as it is ungrateful. If not for Wuhan's lockdown, for which China paid a huge price, we could be facing this pandemic much sooner.

So, Adham, why are we allowing the coronavirus to be imported from China when it is obviously not needed in this country?

Anonymous_1547638166059.10451547637684383: Adham sounds like US President Donald Trump. Is it a China virus?

This is a pandemic. It's a health issue. We can also say if not for the tablighs in Sri Petaling, we wouldn't be here today. Mr Health Minister, it is not the time for blame game.

Educating the masses on social distancing, practising good hygiene and the importance of flattening the curve is far more important than telling us where this virus originated.

Kawak: I must write to Alibaba founder Jack Ma to withdraw the contribution of medical aid to Malaysia and give it Indonesia.

This is one of many no-class ministers in the backdoor government’s cabinet. On the one hand, the foreign minister is thankful for China government's (in addition to Jack Ma Foundation's) offer of help with medical supplies, here we have a minister blaming China for Covid-19.

Ihaveadream: Many foreigners who attended the tabligh gathering in Sri Petaling were infected and in turn, spread the virus upon returning back to their countries.

By this minister's reasoning, it is Malaysia's responsibility as the 'virus exporter' to help and give aid to those affected countries.

Spinnot: China has said it would provide medical assistance such as testing kits, masks and protective suits to 82 countries, and WHO and the African Union.

I do not think China will provide more aid, or less, to Malaysia because of the uncalled-for remarks of the health minister. I also do not think China need a lecture on "social responsibility" from anyone, particularly from people who do not believe in racial equality.

During the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014, China had pledged US$38 million worth of medical aid to the affected countries, including protective clothing, disinfectants and medicines. China had also sent more than 1,200 medical personnel and public health specialists to areas affected by Ebola during the epidemic outbreak.

Just a Malaysian: H1N1 originated from US and 248,000 died from it in 2009. Nobody blames US. Neither did US help other countries infected with H1N1.

Wong Ang Peng: While I am not sure that drinking water has the ability to prevent Covid-19 infection, I am quite sure that UK-based Malaysian surgeon Dr Amalina Bakri is not correct in using the evidence-base argument to debunk the health minister.

This is a pandemic caused by a virus where there is no known cure. Therefore, the evidence-base argument does not apply.

Besides the lockdown, China also used unorthodox and non-pharmaceutical approaches to overcome the Covid-19 threat.

There have been case reports from China stating that high dose vitamin C helped in alleviating symptoms and quicken the cure for the infection. The Shanghai Medical Association also recommended high dose vitamin C to treat the infection.

They used common sense, not rely on evidence-base modality, to treat an infection that has no known cure.

Chicken Rice: If you study statistics from other countries, a number greater than 1,000 of confirmed cases is the tipping point of exponential growth. This is especially true for countries who do not have the resources to test or who are trying to hide numbers (you know which those countries are).

I hope I am wrong but I believe Malaysia is on the path to a disaster on the same scale as Wuhan, Italy, Spain and Iran. I have said it multiples times. There is only one option left - a complete lockdown.

A complete lockdown has proven to work but Malaysia needs good leadership, strong knowledge-based actions and meticulous execution of a pandemic plan.

I do not see any leadership or knowledgeable people in the government/administration who are capable of tackling a crisis of this proportion.

If there is ever a time for a unity government, now it is. Only the best and proven public health professionals should be managing this crisis because it is life and death situation for Malaysia.

If the previous health minister and his deputy are the best-qualified persons, then they should be the one managing this crisis and not the current health minister.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.