KUALA LUMPUR – Netizens have slammed a doctor for apparently making light of Malaysia’s record-high Covid-19 deaths yesterday.
In a tweet at 7.46pm, Putrajaya Hospital consultant physician and nephrologist Dr Rafidah Abdullah posted “Tu 98 dikosongkan”, followed by a smiling emoji.
It is believed to be a reference to the 98 fatalities announced by the Health Ministry along with the all-time high of 9,020 infections.
Dr Rafidah was replying to a tweet by @mafeitz, who said: “Ok. sudah 99.2% covid ICU bed. Itupun with 98 declared dead today. Endgame. Sudah habis.”
She was rebuked by Twitter users, including @Hopeily, who said: “Doctor, I think it’s not compulsory to reply to all, if not most, tweets that come your way. Sometimes we think it’s beneficial to reply, but sometimes we’re wrong.”
Some were less courteous, with @Klvn_D labelling Dr Rafidah’s comment as being of “terrible taste”, while @AbirAbhar said: “Tak kelakar k (Not funny, k).”
User @IvanXwong tweeted: “How could you even be this insensitive? 98 people died and here you are brushing it off as if 98 is just a number.”
“Doc, those 98 are someone’s loved ones; a dad, a mum, a son, or a daughter. They’re more than just numbers and empty beds… pls don’t make fun of those that passed away even if you’re trying to be sarcastic in this situation. Be grateful your loved ones are not part of the 98,” said @dean_dean_d3an.
Some social media users believe that Dr Rafidah, like other medical frontliners, is exhausted, while others pointed out that many of the victims were dead on arrival.
“Not necessarily – some of the 98 might not even be in icu or not offered ventilation in the first place. The ICU beds probably still occupied by the same people. The ones who died maybe because no more ventilator ICU bed to offer to them anyway,” said @dytiaaurinh.
Dr Rafidah made headlines months ago when she questioned queue-jumping in the coronavirus vaccination roll-out.
Recently, she was rapped for accusing the media of not playing its role in advocating immunisation.
The Health Ministry has said her views are her own, and not representative of the ministry.
She will be called up to provide an explanation on her tweet saying: “Media mana? Tolong tunjukkan kebaikan vaksin kepada rakyat. Tak payah lah cerita-cerita artis langgar SOP (prosedur operasi standard) (Where is the media? Please write about the benefits of the vaccine. There is no need to write about celebrities violating SOPs).” – The Vibes, May 30, 2021
