Wednesday briefing
to MPs on how Chua Jui Meng mishandled the worst dengue epidemic in the
nation's history and which is still raging unchecked and causing unnecessary
and avoidable deaths
Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang
(Petaling Jaya,
Monday):
I have accepted the invitation extended by DAP Members of Parliament to give
a briefing to interested MPs in Parliament House on how the Health Minister,
Datuk Chua Jui Meng, had mishandled the worst dengue epidemic in the
nation's history which is still raging unchecked and causing unnecessary and
avoidable deaths, after having claimed the most number of lives and caused
the most number of dengue cases - even worse than 1998, the worst recorded
year for dengue in Malaysia.
Chua had correctly responded promptly to the World Health Organisation (WHO)
global pneumonia alert by putting all clinics, hospitals and laboratories in
the country on pneumonia alert following the outbreak of a mysterious
respiratory illness which has been named "severe acute respiratory syndrome
(SARS)" in Asia
Ironically, this incident has highlighted the scandal of the Health Minister
knowing nothing about the WHO global dengue alert issued in July last year,
warning that the number of new dengue cases for the whole of last year could
exceed the record set in 1998 when more than 1.2 million new cases were
registered - resulting in no response whatsoever from Chua.
At the
time, WHO disease control specialist Dr. Mike Nathan said the risk of
contracting the dengue disease was increasing among 2.5 billion people,
two-fifths of the world's population, and he called on governments to take
effective counter-measures.
I have asked DAP MP for Batu Gajah, Fong Po Kuan, who is organizing the
briefing, to change the date originally proposed for tomorrow to Wednesday,
19th March 2003 at 11.30 a.m., as I would be in the Federal Court tomorrow
for the appeal of former Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
against his conviction and six-year sentence for corruption.
A new Chief Justice of the Federal Court has assumed office today, with Tan
Sri Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim replacing Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah.
Malaysians hope that the start of a new Chief Justice will also be marked by
a new era of justice, and there is no better start for such a new era of
justice than for the quashing of Anwar's conviction and sentence for
corruption, as the case was one of the causes of the crisis of confidence
which plagued the judiciary.
I welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss with MPs, whether Barisan
Nasional, Barisan Alternative or DAP on the worst dengue epidemic in the
country as it is raging unchecked and killing more people, and its
mishandling by the Health Minister, as all leaders in the country must unite
on the common platform to minimize suffering and save lives by bringing the
dengue epidemic under control.
There is no reason why MPs cannot succeed where the Health Minister had
failed - to end the long list of unnecessary and avoidable deaths caused by
aedes mosquito because of a lack of a nation-wide alert and awareness of the
killer dengue disease.
(17/3/2003)
*
Lim Kit Siang, DAP National
Chairman
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http://dapmalaysia.org