THOUSANDS of Malaysians are saddened, thousands more are shedding tears and hundreds of thousands of Malaysians are angry – listening to medical frontliners speaking anonymously in a recorded video clip with subtitles – posted on YouTube and circulated on other social media platforms.
This brilliantly created video is currently trending “speaking truth” that comes right from the lips of the people who matter – the medical frontliners - comprising nurses, doctors, house officers, contract doctors and other allied medical staff.
It is extremely uncommon for civil servants to rebuke the government as their salary comes from the administration. But this video clip is a “rare take” on their resentful feelings courageously shared to tell the public the real inside story.
Voices of the people
At 12pm today there were 1,217 comments on the YouTube post. “This is a very huge wake-up call and the harsh truth,” says Ray Mak.
Another, a teacher VA Van highlighted the need for good leadership. He said: “This is a costly lesson that meritocratic leadership is of utmost importance. Only in a crisis, it becomes clear that leadership matters.”
RottenApple suggested that all the ministers and politicians be sent to hospitals to serve the people. Let them see the reality instead of sitting in their air-conditioned offices. Gowin Nagaraju asked: “We are suffering here, what is Azmin doing in Turkey?"
Says Han Long Chong: “If you have friends in journalism, tell them to push this matter to the government during the press conferences.”
“The woman frontliner who said, I just hope that I don’t kill anyone caused me to burst into tears. It is saddening that they have to choose which patient should be given priority and be saved. These thoughts are mentally killing us,” said Aurora.
Sean Lim hopes the “Spanish Fly” health minister (Datuk Seri Adham Baba) will get to listen to the video clip.
Aja Azman: "Dear frontliners, This is really heartbreaking. Berat mata memandang, berat lagi bahu yang memikul. We Malaysians are truly grateful to you all, frontliners."
Shaharuddin Hamidun says: “This is probably the darkest moment of our nation. Our prayers for our brave frontliners out there.”
According to Kyle Idris, this situation will never end without the right policymakers who can bring a better outcome. People with medical knowledge should be leading this mammoth medical operation. And virologists should make decisions on lockdowns, not some clowns.
Says Tengku Ashman: “My heart bleeds for my country. It is so heart-breaking listening to their frantic plea.”
“In this critical crisis situation, the true enemy is the government of the day. It is imperative to change the leadership. Let the people voice this out to the King,” says David Yong.
Sarawakians join the chorus
Lawsuit applicant for Undi Sarawak Ivan Ong, 19, tells The Vibes, being in Sarawak, “I was not fully aware of the dire Covid-19 situation in Klang Valley hospitals.” He said the video clip was an eye-opener and he was shocked that the number of daily Covid-19 fatalities were under-reported by the government – as claimed by one frontliner – is deeply concerning.
“When will the government take swift and impactful action to prevent hospitals from hitting full capacity? A total exhaustion of resources to treat Covid-19 patients causes downright utter chaos.
“When I watched this video, I was absolutely heartbroken when hearing the voices of the frontliners. I hear stress, I hear frustration, I hear demotivation, I hear tiredness, and I hear shattered spirits. It saddens me that policies are made improperly without consulting frontliners that are on the ground 24/7, because they know what’s best for the patients and themselves.”
He said hundreds have died from the infections, 600,000 M40 households have dropped to B40 status, thousands have lost their jobs, students have lost almost two years of proper education, thousands of frontliners are facing burnouts, and contract health workers do not have job security.
“In a situation like this one would expect the government to be fully focused on the task at hand, yet the elites are still playing ‘musical chairs’ and seem to be more focused on power play than saving the country from the current crisis.
“And this is what infuriates me the most,” he added.
Parti Aspirasi president Lina Soo said that the video clip is truly heartbreaking. She said the frontliners have been getting a raw deal.
“The rate of our frontliners who contracted Covid-19 in the course of their duty is unacceptable, and one can only conclude our frontliners are lacking adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), an issue raised in the video clip. Yet their thoughts have always been on their patients and making the best of the situation as possible.
“The government should have been more prepared with PPE and facilities such as oxygen tanks and hospital beds,” she said. The lack of healthcare medical staff is especially glaring but the government seems eager to recruit teachers in one big mammoth exercise when schools are closed. “What’s the priority, she asked?”
DAP’s Michael Kong said it is appalling that the current PN government has no decency to care about the people and the anguish that they have to face. For over one year, the people are made to suffer from the effects of half-baked MCOs which the frontliners mention in the video clip, in addition to double standards.
“Even with the imposed emergency, the number of infections hit four figures on a daily tally. The PN government has failed miserably. The frontliners out there are the real heroes, not the incompetent ministers and deputies,” said the special officer to Sarawak DAP chief Chong Chieng Jen.
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii says: “The government must really pay attention to the cries of our medical frontliners and mobilise all the necessary resources to fill in the gap and help our frontliners in the Klang Valley to avoid an imminent collapse of the whole healthcare system at the epicenter of the current outbreak.
“It is heart-breaking listening to the cries from them describing the real situation on the ground. I urge the government to immediately listen to their cries and respond rather than try to hide the real situation or worse, go after the whistle blowers that expose the situation,” added the trained medical doctor.
He said they government must execute the following immediately:
- Immediately mobilise more healthcare personnel nationwide to worst-hit facilities especially in Klang Valley to help cope with the increase of demand and need in those hospitals. This includes providing all the necessary equipment, and oxygen tanks.
- Be coherent with all interventionist policies including proper mechanisms based on data and science. This is to ensure that we do not get half-baked policies such as the current lockdown that do not address the core problem. The current Covid-19 Assessment Centre (CAC) strategy must also be re-evaluated as the current centres are not how a CAC should be managed. A CAC is supposed to assist in triage but in the end cause so much inconvenience (and delayed admission) for patients unnecessarily.
- Invest and expand the mental health infrastructure including Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) especially to cater for the needs of our frontliners who are burnt out. Such mental and emotional support for them is so important as they are our last line of defence and we cannot allow them to go on fighting empty. All necessary support should be given to them.
“I urge the government to buck up. Every policy decision will determine life and death of the public at large as well as the well-being of our frontliners,” he added. – The Vibes, July 14, 2021
