REACTIONS
MARCH-APRIL-MAY, 2020 | The Health Xtra
03
Humble yet fi rm
Dr Noor Hisham’s superb handling of the Covid-19
pandemic receives accolades and appreciation
“S
TAY HOME, stay safe and break
the Covid chain”…… we hear
this fi rm and robust voice in the
media from none other than our national
hero, the Director-General of Health,
Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.
He has been working tirelessly since
the Covid-19 pandemic started. Even
when we didn’t have a Minister of Health
for a while, Datuk Noor Hisham stood
fi rm to fi ght the crisis. His leadership is
exemplary. His professionalism, wisdom,
competency, confi dence and fi rmness are
exceptional. He addresses the demands
and needs of all medical personnel and handles the Press incredibly
well.
Every Malaysian looks up to him with great respect.
However, as humble as Datuk Hisham is, attention or glamour has
never been his agenda. He shuns away from the title of National Hero,
stating that “it is not about me; it is what we can do together as one”.
Last but not least - Happy 57th Birthday, Datuk Hisham.
— Dr Nor Fariza Ngah,
Head of Department, Department of Opthalmology,
Hospital Shah Alam
I
WOULD LIKE to wish our Director-
General of Health, Datuk Dr Noor
Hisham Abdullah a very Happy
Birthday.
I would also like to take this
opportunity to congratulate him on the
excellent job of managing the Covid-19
pandemic so far.
Amazing is the turning of the Malaysia
Agro Exposition Park (MAEPS) into a
temporary 600-bed hospital for Covid-19
patients. It only took four days.
I want to highlight areas for
improvement for his team. We are just
beginning to learn about Covid-19. We know
it spares the young and the fi t. Of concern are the old and poor.
Malaysia is a “young” country. Individual Infectious Disease
and Critical Care physicians are going to see fewer patients than
their counterparts in more “ageing” societies. Hence, there is going
to be a “lag” in “expertise accumulation” unless we adopt pro-active
measures.
There is a great need to have a “visible and accessible” rapid-
response team of ICU statisticians and Basic Scientists to make sense
of all the information coming through from ICUs locally and abroad.
I am sure our DG will get around to this.
— Dr Manimalar Selvi Naicker
Medical Lecturer, Consultant Histopathologist
& Statistician, Department of Pathology
Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya
D
ATUK DR NOOR Hisham
is probably among the most
anticipated persons in
Malaysia on social media at the moment.
He is one of the faces of the Malaysian
fi ght against Covid-19. His eloquent and
precise style of delivery has been most
impactful in conveying the severity of
the disease as well as explaining the
measures needed to control the disease.
It was most fortunate during this
time to have the excellent leadership
of a seasoned clinician, surgeon and
administrator in our battle against
Covid-19. I am acutely aware of the diffi culties in handling a crisis,
what more an international health crisis with a novel virus such as
this.
Datuk Dr Noor Hisham is in an unenviable position at this
moment in time and yet seems to have handled well the immense
stress this position indeed entails. I read that he is representing
Malaysia on an international coalition for research into Covid-19, and
this should be applauded.
— Prof Dr Mae-Lynn Catherine Bastion
Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist (Vitreoretina),
Department of Ophthalmology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Medical Centre @ Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz
W
E ARE indeed fortunate to
have Datuk Dr Noor Hisham
Abdullah to serve as the
Director-General of Health especially
during this “unchartered waters” of the
Covid-19 pandemic. With his team at
KKM, he made decisions based on science,
facts and data, which enabled Malaysia to
fl atten the curve. Though still early days,
this is an achievement.
We respect him as a leader who is
rational and calm, someone who has been
able to stand his ground to refute any
policies which might have been unwise or
immature during the pandemic.
We appreciate that despite praises by Malaysians and the
global community, Datuk Hisham remains humble. He maintains
whatever achieved so far has been a team eff ort from KKM,
medical frontliners and all Malaysians. His daily updates are
always transparent and factual. With him at the helm, we hope
we will not only sail through this pandemic safely but also be
wiser on how to handle the next epidemic or pandemic. Thank you,
Datuk Hisham.
— Asso Prof Dr Tan Toh Leong
President and Founder, Malaysian Sepsis Alliance (MySepsis)
Asso Prof and Consultant Emergency Physician,
Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia