KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi (PN-Kuala Langat) highlighted today a bullying case in a government hospital in the peninsula involving the head of a pathology department and pathology specialists.
In his intervention in the Dewan Rakyat today during Question Time, the Opposition lawmaker did not specify who were the alleged perpetrators or victims in the case at the unspecified Ministry of Health (MOH) hospital.
“I was informed that there was a police report, a report to MOH’s integrity unit, and a report to the health minister’s office itself,” said Dr Ahmad Yunus in a supplementary question to Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad.
“The question is if what happened to the pathology specialist in Lahad Datu could also happen in this case that I was informed about. The reports were filed four months ago. We don’t know what actions were taken; it’s as if no action was taken.
“We saw that the independent task force was formed only after the death of the pathology specialist in Lahad Datu.”
Earlier, Howard Lee (PH-Ipoh Timor) asked the minister to state the actions taken by the MOH, following the suicide of UD52 chemical pathologist Dr Tay Tien Yaa from Lahad Datu Hospital in Sabah last August.
The family of Dr Tay, who headed the chemical pathology unit under the pathology department, has blamed the death of the 30-something specialist on workplace bullying.
Dzulkefly did not answer the Kuala Langat MP’s specific questions on the new bullying allegations involving pathologists in a peninsular MOH hospital, but told him: “Of course the independent task force could only be formed after the tragedy, not before.”
The health minister also said the independent task force headed by former Public Service director-general Borhan Dollah has been given an additional three months to investigate “all bullying allegations nationwide”, beyond the first three months to specifically probe Dr Tay’s death.
Lee asked Dzulkefly to state the specific actions that the MOH would take should the independent task force determine that workplace bullying had indeed led to Dr Tay’s death.
“What’s the maximum sentence or action that can be taken by the MOH?” Lee said. “Bullying in the public health service did not start with Dr Tay, but we should ensure that it ends with Dr Tay.”
The health minister did not directly answer the DAP lawmaker’s question, but promised accountability and transparency in the Dr Tay investigation.
Dzulkefly also reiterated the actions that he took back when he was first health minister in 2018, when an orthopaedic head of department at Sungai Buloh Hospital in Selangor was sacked from public service following allegations of sexual harassment of trainee doctors.
“We can’t take this lightly. If there is evidence, action is crucial, but if there is not, we must take heed and not simply make accusations. We need to balance attitude and culture.”
Dzulkefly also commented on the death of Dr Ch’ng Hooi Ping, a UD43 medical officer (MO) from the paediatric department of Seberang Jaya Hospital in Penang, whose family has attributed to overwork.
The sister of Dr Ch’ng – who was found dead at the age of 31 with fluid in her lungs in her car at the parking lot of her workplace – said there were no signs of mental health problems or bullying, but linked the young doctor’s death to 30-hour on-call shifts.
“I look at facts and figures or data; we can’t jump to conclusions,” Dzulkefly said. “The claim of insufficient staff at Seberang Jaya Hospital isn’t necessarily true.”
The health minister cited figures from consultant paediatrician Dr Musa Mohd Nordin’s post on X yesterday that said the optimum number of paediatric MOs for Seberang Jaya Hospital was 25, but the facility exceeded that with 30 MOs in August.
Dr Musa also claimed that the paediatric departments in other government hospitals in Kedah instead were short of MOs, such as Sungai Petani, Kulim, and Alor Setar.
“We will also conduct initial investigations on this new case and perhaps follow it up with an independent task force,” Dzulkefly said.
Dr Ch’ng died last June 27, more than three months ago. The Penang state health department had expressed condolences to her family on the very day of her death.
The young doctor’s sister only went to the press recently with allegations of overwork; her interview with The Star was published yesterday.
