KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 — The death of a young Lahad Datu Hospital specialist doctor from suicide has reverberated through the medical fraternity, sparking fresh questions about workplace bullying in the Ministry of Health (MOH).
In a Facebook post last Saturday that has gone viral, YS Tay, the younger brother of Dr Tay Tien Yaa, blamed his sister’s death on workplace bullying after the UD52 chemical pathologist was found dead in her rental unit on August 29.
Dr Tien Yaa was head of the Chemical Pathology Unit under the Pathology Department at Lahad Datu Hospital, an MOH hospital in Sabah, from February 19 this year, after the 30-something woman got married in September 2023.
“Lahad Datu was a brand new and unfamiliar place to her. Being separated from her husband who has been her pillar of support, but she held on to the promise given to her that she would be transferred back to the peninsula to start a family with her husband, after two years of service in Hospital Lahad Datu,” YS wrote.
“Although being placed in a remote district within just a few months, Tien Yaa strived to improve the quality of health care service at the hospital, particularly enhancing the facilities in her unit to increase diagnostic accuracy. She worked relentlessly to secure resources and, finally, through the Lahad Datu Chinese Chamber of Commerce, obtained a computer for her unit, as reported in the East Coast News.”
Six months later, Dr Tien Yaa was found dead from suicide; YS blamed his sister’s superior.
“He manipulated, delegated jobs to you which were beyond your job scope, put hindrance to develop your unit. Already overloaded with [your] own work duties, you were also assigned to deal with instrument inspections, guidance, endless meetings, mountains of paperwork, managing department personnel, planning the department’s budget, and so on. Enough is enough!!!”
YS said the death of his sister was not merely a personal matter, but a “deep reflection” of the entire health care system.
“Her talents and hard work should not have been drowned in such a hostile environment. Her passing calls for much-needed attention to the mental health of medical professionals in their workplaces.”
YS tagged Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad, MOH, and multiple news outlets on his Facebook post in Bahasa Malaysia that has received more than 17,000 shares, along with the hashtag #FightForRight.
CodeBlue has asked YS for further details, including why he suspected that his sister’s death was caused by workplace bullying and if Dr Tien Yaa had left a suicide note. Lahad Datu police chief Dzulbaharin Ismail told The Star yesterday that no foul play was suspected in the pathologist’s death and that the police would leave the bullying allegation to health authorities.
Dr Tien Yaa’s sister, Wenya, described the specialist doctor as an “incredibly strong woman”.
“You lived a wholesome life despite the troubles you chose to take up the challenge to complete your postgraduate in Master in Chemical Pathology after you had done first year in Master in Forensic Medicine,” Wenya posted on Facebook last Saturday, with the hashtags #FightForJustice and #JusticeWillPrevail.
Wenya said Dr Tien Yaa was the forensic doctor involved in the postmortem examination of Kim Jong-nam, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s half brother, who was assassinated with the nerve agent VX at the KLIA2 airport in 2017.
On X earlier today, Dzulkefly called for further investigation of Dr Tien Yaa’s death. “I have had a ZERO TOLERANCE towards bullying since 2018 and shall remain steadfast on this policy. (few cases in hand). All KKM staff deserve a SAFE and JUST working environment.”
‘Even Grade 52 Can Be Bullied; What About Juniors?’
Many Malaysians commenting on X expressed rage at Dr Tien Yaa’s death, demanding action from the health minister and MOH. Some also pointed out that if a specialist doctor could die from suicide due to alleged workplace bullying, what more junior doctors like medical officers (MO) and house officers (HO).
“Even a specialist could be bullied into suicide. Imagine MOs and HOs? Now people can see those at higher ups,” one person posted on X yesterday.
Another person wrote: “Even Grade 52 can be bullied like that? What about juniors?”
“Even specialists can be bullied, what more those at my level. RIP,” said one person.
An anonymous letter written in memory of Dr Tien Yaa by a person claiming to work at a public hospital in the Klang Valley stressed that staff shortages are the root cause of mental stress faced by health care workers, citing severe nursing shortages. “I am deeply saddened by the death of Dr Tay Tien Yaa, and I hope we really do wake up and address the issues that plague our health care system before it consumes more lives.”
In sharing YS’ Facebook post, contract doctors’ group Hartal Doktor Kontrak simply wrote: “#JusticeForDrTay”.
In a post on X yesterday, Sabah state Finance Minister Masidi Manjun told the MOH and Dzulkefly to investigate the “serious allegation” of bullying behind Dr Tien Yaa’s death.
Bentong MP Young Syefura Othman called for a comprehensive investigation from the MOH and police to determine if workplace bullying had caused Dr Tien Yaa’s suicide.
“I am made to understand that there indeed are cases of bullying among health care workers; appropriate action must be taken to prevent a repeat of this incident,” the DAP lawmaker posted on X yesterday.
HWCITF’s 2022 Investigation After Penang Hospital Houseman’s Death Received 14,000 Unseen Pages Of Testimonies
In 2022, then-Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin set up a Healthcare Work Culture Improvement Task Force (HWCITF), led by former Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation secretary-general Siti Hamisah Tapsir, following the death of a houseman from Penang Hospital.
CodeBlue previously reported that the HWCITF’s 162-page report, released two years ago in August 2022, was sloppy as the committee’s poll of staff across all 30 service schemes in the MOH contained very little analysis of specific workplace issues faced by junior doctors, including bullying. HWCITF’s report also did not state bullying prevalence among doctors.
Medical practitioners in grades 41 and above only comprised less than a quarter (23 per cent) of the 110,411 respondents in HWCITF’s online poll of MOH staff; merely about one in 10 respondents were housemen or junior medical officers in grades 41 to 44.
Despite receiving a whopping 14,000 over pages of comments, suggestions, and views, HWCITF’s report omitted anecdotes or testimonies of workplace bullying and bad working conditions faced by doctors. The MOH did not state what recommendations were implemented following HWCITF’s report.
Dr Ahmad Hafizam Hasmi – a forensic pathologist at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL), whom YS said had recommended Dr Tien Yaa for Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia’s (UKM) Master in Chemical Pathology programme – wrote a cryptic poem last September 3 titled “Suatu Petang Di Bilik Duka” (An Evening in the Room of Sorrow).
In his poem, Dr Hafizam alluded to the lack of a support system for a person relocated to a faraway place “for the importance of service” and the absence of condolence flowers from the person’s seniors, workplace, and central organisation:
Aku mula berfikir,
Apakah nilai seorang pekerja,
Yang dedikasi,
Yang tekun,
Yang aku kenal benar etika kerjanya,
Mungkin segalanya disapu di bawah karpet,
Mungkin atasan di Menara Ivori tidak tahu,
Sangka baikku,
Segalanya mungkin.
Note: Anyone facing mental health issues can contact Befrienders at 03-76272929, which is open 24 hours, for emotional support or MOH’s HEAL Line 15555.
