How The Book Came To Be
This book began as part of my Master’s degree in Media Studies and Communication at the University of Malaya in 2019. Apart from preparing a thesis, one of the prerequisites to graduate was to produce a media product. I chose to author a book. At the time, I had no idea what to write about.
Then Covid-19 happened in 2020. News and social media were flooded with reports about the struggles of medical frontliners. But beyond the headlines and statistics, I saw firsthand what they endured through a family member who was a medical frontliner.
Because of the pandemic, they were suddenly pulled into handling Covid-19 cases. Long hours at the hospital meant days of isolation from their loved ones. They had small children, but for fear of bringing the virus home, they stayed away.
It was heartbreaking—the children longed for their parent, and the frontliner, in turn, suffered the pain of separation while carrying the weight of duty.
Witnessing this struggle made me realise that these stories needed to be told. Instead of just passive social media posts, I wanted to document the raw, unfiltered emotions of medical frontliners—their fears, exhaustion, and resilience—so that others could truly understand what they endured. Thus, The Medical Frontliners’ Ballad was born.
The book contains 15 stories chronicling the personal and professional journeys of Malaysian medical frontliners battling Covid-19 throughout 2020. These stories reveal how the pandemic affected both their personal lives and professional duties as they put themselves at risk to serve others.
Some of the stories were written by the frontliners themselves, while others were written by me based on exhaustive non-physical interviews. For those who preferred to write their own accounts, I assured them from the beginning that they could do so in English or Bahasa Malaysia, without worrying about grammar or structure. Their time was precious; they were exhausted after long shifts dealing with Covid-19 patients.
For this reason, I took the liberty of refining their narratives to ensure their stories were told as they should be—free from jargon and full of raw human emotion.
Who The Book Features
The book features a diverse range of medical frontliners, including senior and junior doctors, as well as a non-medical volunteer.
Some were stationed in overwhelmed hospitals, others worked in makeshift quarantine centres like the PKRC in MAEPS, and a few even volunteered to assist in Sabah when the state’s health care system was on the brink of collapse.
Their experiences varied, but one thing remained constant—their dedication to duty, even in the face of immense personal risk.
Gathering The Stories: A Challenge In Itself
Getting these stories wasn’t easy. Initially, I reached out to close friends and family members in the medical field—senior doctors with 10 to 15 years of experience—but they declined. It wasn’t that they didn’t want their stories told; they simply had more pressing responsibilities.
However, they helped spread the word among their junior colleagues, and it was these young doctors who were eager to share their experiences. For many of them, dealing with Covid-19 was an overwhelming and life-changing event.
Sharing their stories became a way to process and cope with the chaos, the exhaustion, and the emotional toll of the pandemic.
In total, I reached out to more than 50 people. Some initially agreed but later had to withdraw due to overwhelming work commitments, personal circumstances, or major developments like the reinforcement of the Movement Control Order. In the end, 15 contributors remained—each with a story that needed to be told.
Due to the deeply personal nature of these accounts, contributors were given the option to reveal their identities or remain anonymous. Out of the 15, nine did not mind being named, while six preferred to keep their identities private.
To think that we were having a very tough time, my thoughts were with the Infectious Diseases Specialist who was responsible for overseeing Covid-19 related cases for the whole of western Sabah. This specialist is responsible for overseeing all Covid-19 related cases in the ten district hospitals and health clinics for the whole western zone.
It was common for him to receive around 200 phone calls a day from the district hospitals and health clinics under his purview on a typical day. The numbers could quickly shoot up to at least 300 phone calls on a chaotic day. For the whole of Sabah, there are only two Infectious Diseases Specialists responsible for overseeing Covid-19 related cases. I thought that I had things hard, but these specialists have it even harder.
Excerpt from The Medical Frontliners’ Ballad
More Than Just a Hero’s Journey
The stories in this book cover a wide spectrum of emotions—some are thought-provoking, inspiring, even humorous, while others are heartbreaking. What’s interesting is the contrast in perspectives.
Some frontliners volunteered to assist in critical zones, fully aware of the risks. Their stories evoke heroism, as they stepped beyond the call of duty to serve where they were needed most.
However, not all were volunteers. Some were instructed to serve in high-risk areas, and their narratives are different—tinged with reluctance, fear, and even resentment. They didn’t have a choice, yet they performed their duties out of responsibility and self-sacrifice.
This raises an important question: Are they really heroes? Do they even want to be called heroes? If we define a hero as someone who always triumphs, then what about those who lost their battles—physically, emotionally, or mentally?
Publishing the Book: A Smoother Journey
One fortunate aspect of this project was that it originated as part of my Master’s degree. The book layout and cover had already been designed to meet university requirements, which made the publishing process with Amazon KDP much faster and more efficient.
Unlike many independent authors who struggle with formatting and design, I already had a complete product ready to go.
Acknowledgment
This book would not have been possible without the selflessness of the frontliners who took the time—despite their physically and emotionally draining schedules—to share their experiences.
Whether they wrote their stories themselves or entrusted me to tell them, their willingness to open up about their struggles and sacrifices is what gives this book its heart.
To those who contributed and those who supported this project in any way, thank you for allowing these stories to be told.
A Call To Awareness
This book is not just a collection of stories; it is a testament to the personal and professional struggles of Malaysia’s medical frontliners during the pandemic. Beyond the statistics and headlines, these are real people who had to navigate exhaustion, fear, duty, and sacrifice—often without recognition or support.
By reading and sharing their stories, we acknowledge their contributions and ensure that their experiences are not forgotten.
The Medical Frontliners’ Ballad is available for purchase on Amazon here.
Ahmad Faisal Ahmad Ramzi currently serves as an administrative and diplomatic officer (PTD) in the Malaysia Border Control and Protection Agency, Ministry of Home Affairs. This article is part of a special CodeBlue series marking the fifth anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring Covid-19 as a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.
• This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
