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MMA commended for taking stand against war in Iraq but why has it been blind, deaf and dumb to the losing war against dengue for the past eight months and which had claimed over a hundred lives from unnecessary and avoidable deaths in the worst dengue epidemic still raging in the country Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Petaling Jaya,  Monday): The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) is to be commended for taking a stand against war in Iraq, saying that war is a major hazard to health. (Bernama) MMA said that the first Gulf War and the economic sanctions that followed had severely undermined the health and social infrastructure of the Iraqi people. It said: "Another war will be a humanitarian catastrophe as a possible civil war, famine, epidemics, refugees and the war-hounded overwhelm the health and social services of a weakened war-ravaged country." The MMA said that based on analysis, the consequences of the attack would result in between 48,000 and 260,000 deaths during the first three months of the conflict. In the aftermath of the war, an additional 200,000 lives could be lost. While MMA should be commended for taking a stand against war in Iraq, it should explain why it had been blind, deaf and dumb to the losing war against dengue for the past eight months and which had claimed over a hundred lives from unnecessary and avoidable deaths in the worst dengue epidemic still raging in the country. The Malaysian public, who expect the MMA to use its pool of professional expertise to help protect the medical and health interests of the people, are most disappointed that there had not been a whimper from the MMA in the past eight months of the worst dengue epidemic in the nation's history and which is still raging unchecked, with an ever mounting death toll, with the casualty list a most Malaysian affair, regardless of race, religion, gender or age. When the Health Minister, Datuk Chua Jui Ming, could find the time last Friday to draw the attention of Malaysians of an outbreak of pneumonia-like illness in China to advise Malaysians traveling overseas to get influenza vaccinations - despite assurances by the Chinese health authorities that the outbreak which had claimed five lives since November is under control - the MMA should have been the first to remind Chua of his urgent priority to bring the killer dengue epidemic at home under control, as it had raged long enough, claiming the lives of over 100 people, and the the catastrophe cannot be allowed to continue to rampage on unchecked. The MMA silence, inaction and indifference in the country's worst dengue epidemic, registering a record number of dengue cases and dengue fatalities, will forever be a blot on the history and record of MMA. MMA officials should end their long, irresponsible and cowardly silence, request an urgent meeting with the Health Minister and requisition an emergency meeting of the MMA to mobilize the entire doctor population in the country to help to bring the killer dengue epidemic under control through a major nation-wide community anti-dengue campaign. (17/2/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman