Farewell Tan Sri Dr Noor Hisham

On April 21, Dr Noor Hisham will retire as director-general of the ministry of health (MOH), after 35 years’ service.

Dr Noor Hisham became a hero of many Malaysians during their Covid-19 pandemic, becoming a public figure known to almost all, due to his TV briefings. Dr Noor Hisham was named one of the world’s top doctors fighting Covid-19, alongside Dr Anthony Fauci of the United States and Dr Ashley Bloomfield of New Zealand, by China Global TV Network (CGTN).

Chinese trolls and bots would attack anyone who criticized Noor Hisham in the media. When the MP for Bintulu in Sarawak Tiong King Sing in parliament criticised Noor Hisham for not being on the frontlinesduring the pandemic to give moral support for the doctors and nurses working tirelessly, he was escorted forcibly from the chamber.

Noor Hisham has received many accolades. However, there are dark sides to the legacy he leaves behind.

1.      Political bias as a public servant

First and foremost, Noor Hisham is a ‘political animal’. During the 2018 general election campaign, Noor Hisham made a number of tweets, which could be construed to be politically biased, supporting Najib Razak. The MOH main page of its official website promoted the Barisan Nasional. Farida Ariffin, a spokesperson for the G25, made a statement that Noor Hisham was abusing his position as the director-general of the MOH. Bersih 2.0 also criticised Noor Hisham, stating he was breaking public service regulations, and named in Bersih’s “Hall of Shame”, along side jailed former prime minister Najib Razak.

2.      Strikes are just a symptom of a ‘toxic’ public health care sector

The current doctors’ strikes are only a symptom of what many within the public healthcare system describe as ‘toxic’. The public healthcare system is plagued with staff shortages, with overworked and underpaid healthcare professionals and support staff throughout the nation. There are also chronic bed shortages, a lack of specialists in many areas, insufficient equipment, and poor emergency response times.

Staff also complain of bullying, sexual abuse, and even sexual assault, sometimes leading to suicides. A Code Blue pollundertaken nationwide of 1652 government healthcare professionals and support workers, showed that 95 percent believe the public health system is in crisis. More than 72 percent are looking for jobs outside of the public system.

Noor Hisham was never an advocate of fixing this crisis. He had a condescending attitudetowards those who planned on striking, being reactive, rather than proactive.

3.      Incompetent Covid-19 management

Noor Hisham was given unprecedented control over managing the pandemic. This included the Movement Control Orders (MCO), or lockdowns. Noor Hisham introduced draconian lockdowns which drove the economy into the ground. People relied on charity to feed themselves. The suicide rate increased, family abuse increased, and now the incidence of other diseases are on the rise, due to people not being able to go to hospitals during the MCOs.

The scientific rationale was never released.

According to government statistics, the Covid-19 pandemic tragically cost the lives of more than 36,000 Malaysians. We are now seeing the collateral damage resulting from the Movement Control Orders (MCOs), which include growing poverty and business bankruptcies. The number of households in abject poverty, rose from 27,158 in 2019 to 136,000 in 2022.

Little, vital economic public relief was provided for locked-up citizens, which critics say drove the economy into the ground. People relied on charity to feed themselves, many famously tying white flags outside their homes to indicate distress.

With Covid-19 relief packages amounting to over RM 600 billion over the last three years, public debt has risen to 61.3 percent of GDP, as at September 2022. Money supply increased 25 percent over the pandemic, resulting in a leap in inflation, particularly hitting the food sector hard.

The MCOs were not ordered by Noor Hisham according to any reliable medical or research studies, data, or proof that these measures actually work. He actually ignored the advice of experts in the field, who advised against the measures. Fourteen former presidents of the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) urged a winding back of the MCOs, which was also ignored. There were questions about Noor Hisham, who is a surgeon by training, had the expertise to make public health decisions, unilaterally without expert advice.

Even after Muhyiddin Yassin, as prime minister announced on national TV the MCOs would be wound back, Noor Hisham publicly contradicted him, disagreeing on the decision.

On March 21, 2021, photographs of Noor Hisham were circulated online showing him breaking his own standard operating procedures (SOPS)during the MCO. These photos showed Noor Hisham at a party with other family members standing closely together without masks at a wedding reception for his daughter Khairin Afiqah.

Malaysians are still suffering financially from decisions Noor Hisham forced upon the nation. The Malaysian government is in very high debt because of necessary financial relief due to the MCO. This will reflect in budgetary policy in years to come as future government will have to repay this debt.

4.      Questions over vaccine procurement

More and more evidence is emerging by the day, that pharmaceutical companies paid governments and officials to secure the sale of their vaccines. In the light of growing evidence, the vaccine procurement process requires a thorough review, and explanation by the then health minister Khairy Jamaluddin and DG of the Health ministry Nor Hisham.

Public statements by Ministers in the new government have revealed that 2.8 million vaccine doses worth RM81.4 millionexpired up to February this year and a further 8 million, costing perhaps a further RM230 million will expire by September due to over-purchasing and a collapse in public confidence in the vaccine programme which has seen booster shot take-up fall dramatically.

5.     Vaccine safety issues and the role of the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Authority (NPRA)

Independent reappraisal of Pfizer vaccine trial data has found that 1 person in 800 is likely experience adverse side effects from the vaccine.                                                                                           

It is necessary to review how the NPRA came to approve the use of the Pfizer vaccine upon the general population of Malaysia. Once again, the DG of health Nor Hisham must answer this query.

It must also be noted that the present minister of health Dr Zaliha Mustafa is still promoting vaccines to Malaysia’s general population, even though the extent of adverse side effects is now clearly known from recent scientific data on mRNA vaccines. Pfizer in a press release on 27^th January have also raised these concerns and put question upon about the efficacy of their own product.

Many pregnant women and their off-spring are suffering adverse effects now. Pfizer cautions pregnant women over the vaccine.

Administrating Covid-19 vaccines is still MOH policy. The question is why has Noor Hisham not raise alarms as data became clear about the changing cost/benefit ratio of the vaccines, and potentially dangerous side effects.

Noor Hisham was dismissive of adverse effects, from vaccinations, and continued to encourage vaccination, without consideration of changing risk/benefit analysis. A number of countries like Australia and the United Kingdom have recently radically changed their recommendations concerning vaccines due to new information arising on adverse effects.

6.     Covid Profiteering

A company, Protect Health Corporation Sdn Bhd, that Noor Hisham was the chairman, proposed a scheme to vaccinate 500,000 shopping mall workers, on-site to prevent absenteeism. Each shopping mall worker would be charged an administration fee of RM 50. The scheme would earn RM 25,000,000 from Protect Health. The Malaysian public were receiving their vaccinations free of charge.

The proposal was quickly abandoned once the scheme was exposed by news portals.

7.     Malaysians failing to obtain justice from the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC)

The MMC has repeatedly failed to police professional misconduct within the medical profession. An extremely high percentage of complainants are rejected by the MMC through a single letter by the MMC Preliminary Investigation Committees (PIC), leaving victims from botched surgeries, incorrect or poorly applied treatments, and even insurance frauds, to fend for themselves.

Many people have died unnecessarily, or have been permanently injured and incapacitated because of this. The MMC is overtly promoting professional misconduct by its lax and sometimes dishonest approach to dealing with complaints. Medical practitioners know that in the majority of cases they will get away with their slips in professional conduct and mistakes.

Complaints are just being white washed through a single letter, stating ‘there will be no further investigation into the matter’. The dismissive reply in the case shown above is from the same disciplinary investigation committee, PIC II, headed by Megat Burhainuddinin which he, as the chairman, was heard in an audio recording refusing the proper investigation of an accused doctor on a ‘no questions asked’ basis and in which the legal advisor was recorded as saying they would ‘get this thing done sneakily’ referring to the subsequent dismissal of the charges against the same doctor.

Thousands of Malaysians are victims to bureaucratic barriers that are designed to protect medical practitioners.

Noor Hisham is well aware of the above and has reverted to threats of taking legal action against those who expose the treatment of complainants, rather than remedy the problems and issues.

The rationale behind the MCOs needs an urgent explanation, given the rise in government debt, and the hardship suffered by people across the country. Finally, the dealings done between government and the pharmaceutical companies needs to be investigated by the MACC.

The use of mRNA vaccines needs another review to keep Malaysians safe.

Finally, too many Malaysians have suffered from mal-practice and botched medical procedures. The MMC has been covering up and protecting their own. As president of the MMC, Noor Hisham threatened those who exposed these issues with legal action, rather than remedying the real problems.

Many Malaysians have unnecessarily died or been injured during the tenure of Noor Hisham as director general of the MOH.

There is an urgent need for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into these matters, which have done so much damage to the nation. Anything less than an RCI is a cover up to protect those who managed the pandemic, and oversee medical practitioners in Malaysia.

Lives depend upon this. Rumors have it, that Noor Hisham is lobbying to become the World Health Organization’s next secretary-general.