http://dapmalaysia.org  

DAP to send strong protests to the two Ministries of Health and Local Government/Housing for the systematic campaign of misinformation about the virulent dengue outbreak in the past six months causing avoidable human suffering and loss of lives which could have been prevented by an early  nation-wide alert Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Penang, Wednesday): The first thing the DAP will do in the new year  will be  to send strong protests to two Ministries, the Health Ministry and the Local Government and Housing Ministry, for the systematic campaign of misinformation about the virulent dengue outbreak in the past six months causing avoidable human suffering and loss of lives which could have been prevented by an early nation-wide alert.  In yesterday’s Berita Harian report, which quoted  the director-general of the Local Government Department in the Housing and Local Government Ministry, Datuk Mohamad Saib, making the hackneyed statement that all  local authorities nationwide had been directed to increase  monitoring and enforcement activities against aedes-breeding locations following the rise in the number of dengue cases, the figure of 26 deaths from the dengue outbreak last  year (13 in Selangor, 10 in Perak and 3 in Sarawak) was again used.  This is most shocking when the figure of 26 deaths from the dengue outbreak last year is less than half of the actual fatalities, and its continued use  is  a grave disservice to the people and country in misleading them into complacency about the gravity of the continuing  dengue outbreak.  The use of the grossly low figure of 26  dengue deaths in the whole country last year, ignoring the fatalities in the other states, is trebly  irresponsible for three  reasons: Malaysian press reports in  September that there were 34 deaths from dengue  in the first eight months of 2002; Press reports that the incidence of  dengue deaths last  year was  not confined to the three states of Selangor, Perak and Sarawak, but included Kuala Lumpur (with four deaths by end of August) as well as  Johore, Negri Sembilan and Kelantan, where there were at least 13, 5 and 1 deaths respectively; and  The statement by the parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Health, S. Sothinathan to the AFP on Monday that the dengue outbreak last year had  claimed 54 lives, four short of the worst dengue outbreak in 1998 which killed 58.  Sothinathan’s figure of 54 dengue deaths  was clearly not for the whole of last year. Both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Local Government and Housing, which are jointly responsible for combating the dengue menace, must be censured for continuing to trifle with human lives by refusing to give regular,  true, full and accurate information about the dengue outbreak in the past six months so as to create the necessary  nation-wide awareness to bring the dengue outbreak under control.  The jump to 54 deaths by  December (which is  not the final figure  for  the whole of last year)  from 34 deaths at the end of August casts a  most adverse aspersion on the competence, effectiveness and sense of responsibility of these two Ministries to combat the dengue outbreak for which the two Ministers concerned, Datuk Chua Jui Meng and Datuk Ong Ka Ting, owe the people of Malaysia a full explanation and accountability. (1/1/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman