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Call on Chua Jui Meng to provide daily detailed reports and statistics of
SARS cases in Parliament and media
Press Statement
by Fong Po Kuan
(Petaling Jaya,
Wednesday):
I call on the Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng to stop diminishing public
confidence in the government's handling of the Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) by providing daily detailed reports and statistics of
suspected and confirmed SARS cases in Parliament and media.
Yesterday, the Director General of Health Ministry Dr. Mohd Taha Arif had
said that Malaysia is free from SARS and that there was not a single
suspected case. But today, 41 cases of SARS have been reported.
The sudden and drastic jump from 'zero' to 41 cases shows that the
government is misleading the public and suppressing information of a disease
that is of global proportions.
To disallow full reporting on SARS for fear that it would adversely affect
public confidence and keep tourists away can only result in a reverse
effect. As it is now, the public is already losing confidence in the
government through the denial of vital information on SARS which would give
them a true picture of how widespread the disease is in our country.
Are tourist arrivals more important than the safety of people's lives? By
focusing on the negative implications on tourists, the government is guilty
of putting the emphasis on the wrong place and disregarding the lives of the
public who has a fundamental right to full information on SARS.
At the same time, the Malaysian team that was sent to investigate the SARS
outbreak in Singapore would be acting improperly and unprofessionally if
they fail in their duty to advise the government to be fully transparent in
the reporting of incidences of SARS.
I also urge the Health Ministry to provide full details of all suspected
SARS cases and confirmed cases if any on its website instead of merely
putting up news reports. If the Singapore Health Ministry can provide the
latest detailed statistics of SARS cases on its website on a daily basis,
there is no reason why our Health Ministry cannot do likewise.
(2/4/2003)
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Fong Po Kuan, MP for Batu Gajah
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