The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) has demanded an open apology from Bintulu member of parliament Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing over his remarks towards Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah during the Dewan Rakyat sitting yesterday.
Cuepacs president Adnan Mat said Tiong’s criticism of Dr Noor Hisham for not visiting medical frontliners in Sabah was “irresponsible” and degrading the efforts by the Health Ministry to curb the Covid-19 pandemic.
“As an MP, he (Tiong) should use the proper channels to express his personal opinion.
“It is not fair to attack him on a platform where he does not have an opportunity to defend himself.
“Thus, I believe the MP must issue a public apology to respect the sacrifice made by all frontliners and Dr Noor Hisham to ensure the safety of your healthcare during this period,” he said in a statement today.
Tiong, during the debate on the 2021 Budget, said Dr Noor Hisham was “afraid to die”, which was why he did not go to Sabah to provide moral support for the frontliners.
Adnan said the people must learn from this incident and realise that freedom of speech is no excuse to make inappropriate criticisms.
“We hope this will not happen again especially among politicians.
“The Health Ministry is the main and important agency to handle issues related to Covid-19 while other (ministries) must act as supporting agencies to streamline all directives in every state.
“The Health director-general is a professional and acts based on professional data without any political agenda.
“All state health directors have constant communication with director-general to receive the latest information or directives.
“There is no need for the director-general to go to the field as he is responsible for ensuring strategies, and directives from his office can be sent to all states and hospitals promptly,” he said.
He said Dr Noor Hisham’s work was recognised by the World Health Organisation and other international organisations for his efforts in managing the pandemic.
“All criticism against the public servant must stop, especially during this pandemic season.
“We must do whatever we can assist the frontliners to flatten the curve,” he added. – NST