[UPDATED] Doctor in S’gor dies of exhaustion

KUALA LUMPUR – A Covid-19 frontline doctor working at a hospital in Selangor passed away yesterday, possibly due to exhaustion and overwork.

The heroic Dr Ali Noor Hassan’s death was announced on a Facebook post by local NGO Skuad Pengurusan Jenazah Malaysia (Corpse Management Squad or SPJM) – of which the late doctor was a member.

“The deceased was a registered member of SPJM since 2018 after he attended a corpse management course in Quba Sura in Sentul two years ago,” said the post.

“This is the last picture of him that was taken by his colleague before falling ill due to overwork and exhaustion, as well as lack of time to rest after working in the Health Ministry’s frontlines to treat Covid-19. He fell asleep on duty and was unconscious,” said the post.

In the post, SPJM added that the late doctor was a preacher and had attended a tabligh gathering in Beaufort, Sabah, twice. During each gathering, Dr Ali would volunteer as a medical officer for the participants.

At the time of writing, the Facebook post had received 508 messages of condolences in its comments section and 662 shares.

This is the second time SPJM has lost someone critical to their cause. On Friday, January 15, the NGO had lost its Kedah chairman Habibullah Hassan.

Meanwhile, other Facebook groups such as Pusat Rawatan Islam Terapi bil Quran and Geng Surau Putrajaya also picked up on the tragic news and made announcements on their respective pages.

Later however, Health Director-General Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah took to Facebook to urge people not to speculate on the nature of Dr Ali’s death and respect his grieving family.

He also said that Dr Ali did not die of Covid-19, adding he suffered from another illness.

“Allahyarham Dr Ali Noor has returned to Allah’s embrace late last night (January 18). He was a Health Ministry medical officer that was well-liked by his colleagues, patients and community.

“His Covid-19 test results were negative. He was admitted to Kuala Lumpur Hospital since early December 2020 because of other illnesses, where he went through a few treatment sessions. 

“To respect the deceased as well as his family, the Health Ministry requests that all parties stop speculating on his case,” said Dr Noor Hisham. – The Vibes, January 20, 2021