Impersonation incident: Perlis Health Dept tightens security at all facilities
KANGAR: Security has been tightened at all Perlis health facilities, including clinics and hospitals, to prevent impersonation of healthcare personnel.
State Health director Dr Ghazali Chik said health facilities in Perlis comprise 13 health and 27 rural clinics, as well as Hospital Tuanku Fauziah (HTF) here.
Speaking to reporters after the opening of the State Legislative Assembly by the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Jamalullail, he emphasised the importance of closely monitoring any suspicious activity.
Last night, Bernama reported that the Perlis Health Department confirmed that a 22-year-old man impersonated an assistant medical officer (PPP) at the HTF compound on April 8, with the incident going viral on TikTok on April 20.
Kangar police chief ACP Yusharifuddin Mohd Yusop confirmed that a report on the incident was received on April 9 and the case is being investigated under Section 170 of the Penal Code.
Elaborating, Dr Ghazali said the impersonator was detected early within the HTF compound and, as such, the man did not enter the hospital premises or meet with any patients.
'To my knowledge, this is the first case (involving impersonation). Our records do not indicate any similar cases in the past at the HTF or within our clinic network,' he said.
In a separate matter, Dr Ghazali confirmed that a Form Three student is in stable condition and receiving treatment at HTF after experiencing seizures believed to have been triggered by vaping.
'I have not yet received the full report. The student remains in the ward and is stable,' he said.
Yesterday, it was reported that an incident occurred at 9.35 am when a student and two friends allegedly left their classroom without permission during an English language test.
Perlis Education director Rose Aza Che Arifin said a teacher on duty noticed the unconscious student being carried back into the classroom by two friends. The student was foaming at the mouth and was immediately rushed to HTF.
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Borneo Post
a day ago
- Borneo Post
‘From Sibu to Singapore'
Sarawak-born doctor proud to have become pioneer in colorectal surgery in Lion City, hails late wife as 'greatest supporter' Dr Goh regards the relocation to Singapore in 1981 as 'the defining step of his career'. THE move from Sarawak to Singapore in 1981 was indeed the defining step for Mukah-born Prof Dr Goh Hak Su. It later earned him the recognition of being one of the most respected figures in the field of colorectal surgery. 'Well, I grew up in a poor household in Mukah. 'I went to school and studied up to O-Level at Three Rivers School. 'That's the highest you could go in Mukah. Usually, after Form 5, the next step would be to go to Miri to do the A-Level,' he shared with thesundaypost during an exclusive interview recently. Dr Goh, now 77, could never forget how fortunate he was to be awarded an English scholarship after his O-Level, which enabled him to pursue A-Levels at the prestigious Sevenoaks School in the UK. He then went on to pursue two degrees – one in Biochemistry, and the other in Medicine – at the King's College London and the University of London. He then underwent training as a surgeon and obtained a Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS) in England, before coming back to Sarawak in early 1980. 'There were very few doctors in Sarawak in those days. I thought that before coming back, I would be more useful if I were a surgeon rather than just a GP (general physician). 'As a GP, you treat general medical conditions, which is also important. 'But if someone came in bleeding or with appendicitis, I wouldn't be able to deal with it as a GP. 'So I trained as a surgeon after completing my medical degree. 'The whole point of training and going back was to serve Sarawak,' he said. 'Return to homeland' Upon his return in early 1980, Dr Goh was posted at Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) in Kuching. His wife Associate Professor Dr Cynthia Goh, also a trained doctor, had taken some time off to raise their son and daughter. Photo shows the old Lau King Howe Hospital in Sibu, where Dr Goh had served as its only surgeon from 1980 to 1981. — Photo from Dr Goh said after several months at the SGH, he was persuaded by the former deputy chief minister, the late Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr Wong Soon Kai, to relocate to Lau King Howe Hospital (LKHH) in Sibu, where there were no surgeon at the time. 'It was a request that I graciously accepted,' said Dr Goh. He said including himself, there were two surgeons in Kuching at the time. 'The other was a more senior colleague. In Sibu, however, there was no surgeon stationed there. 'Datuk Patinggi Dr Wong, a great and highly-respected surgeon, approached me and said: 'We have two surgeons here in Kuching, but none in Sibu – why not serve where you're needed most'. 'So, after four months in Kuching, I agreed to move to Sibu.' 'One surgeon, many roles' Dr Goh then served at the LKHH as the sole surgeon, providing surgical care and covering not just Sibu, but the entire division at that time. 'I enjoyed my work at the LKHH very much. People came from Kanowit, Kapit, even as far as Belaga. 'Sometimes, though, we had patients with appendicitis who had to travel for two to three days just to reach us for surgery. 'Sadly, some did not make it.' As the only general surgeon in Sibu, Dr Goh performed a wide range of operations, from on the abdomen and lungs to, at times, heart and kidneys. 'I didn't do eye surgeries, because there was an eye surgeon; and there's one for O&G (obstetrics and gynaecology). 'The rest, I had to do myself. Obviously, it was very challenging. 'Given the limitations at the time, my team and I had to make do with what was available. 'It was a demanding environment, but it's also one that gave us invaluable experience and taught us to adapt effectively.' 'Decision shaped by circumstances' However, nearing the end of 1981 after having served in Sarawak for 18 months, Dr Goh left Sibu for Singapore. It was not a decision that he made lightly. 'It was driven by necessity,' he said, pointing out that the circumstances surrounding foreign spouses at the time made it almost impossible for his family to settle in Sarawak. In explaining this, he said Dr Cynthia was born in Hong Kong, but after having studied in the UK for so long, she was granted British citizenship. 'My wife, having studied in the UK for years, and my children, who were born in England, all held British passports. 'At that time, the situation was very different – they couldn't become Sarawak residents. 'My wife had to renew her permit every three months, and although she was a trained doctor, she wasn't allowed to work in Sarawak. 'It was very difficult,' he shared. 'A new chapter' After his family left Sarawak, Dr Goh joined the Department of Surgery at the National University of Singapore (NUS). It was in his first eight years with the university that he developed a special interest in colorectal surgery. 'Even at that time, we already knew that colorectal cancer was going to be a very important focus, because from the cancer registry, we could see that the numbers and the incidence were increasing very dramatically compared with the other types of cancers.' In 1989, Dr Goh was asked by Singapore's Ministry of Health to establish the Department of Colorectal Surgery at Singapore General Hospital. 'That's where it began. I started the first colorectal surgery programme in Singapore, as well as in Southeast Asia. In 1989, I established the Department of Colorectal Surgery at Singapore General Hospital, marking the beginning of the specialty in the region.' The department trained most colorectal surgeons in Singapore and provided fellowships and training to surgeons from across Southeast Asia, China, India, Bangladesh, and even as far as Australia and UK. In 2021, Singapore Health Services (SingHealth) and Duke-NUS Medical School established the Goh Hak Su Professorship in Colorectal Surgery, with a perpetual endowment, in honouring Dr Goh for pioneering the surgical specialty in Singapore, and also in Southeast Asia. A view of the wall showing the awards and recognitions conferred on Dr Goh, at a corner of the Goh Hak-Su Colon and Rectal Centre in Singapore. — Photo from However, it was only one part of the Goh's legacy. Dr Cynthia also left an equally profound impact in the field of palliative care. 'A wife's grace, a nation's care' Born on Nov 21, 1949, in Hong Kong into a family of doctors, Dr Cynthia pursued medicine in the UK. There, she met her future husband at St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1969, and married him in 1974. To Dr Goh, Dr Cynthia was 'simply remarkable – a woman of brilliance, with sheer drive and deep compassion'. 'She trained to become a physician, and completed a PhD in molecular biology, all while raising a family. 'She could do it all – housewife, doctor, scientist. 'She was a brilliant person,' he said. Dr Cynthia took a holistic approach to medicine, added Dr Goh. 'She believed that a person was never just a diagnosis. She treated people, not just illnesses.' That belief, said Dr Goh, shaped her life's work in palliative care, which was a nascent field in Asia back then. Archive photo shows Dr Cynthia (left) attending to a patient at St Joseph's Home during her earlier years in the field of palliative care. — Photo from Dr Cynthia began volunteering at St Joseph's Home and Hospice, Singapore in 1986, and went on to establish palliative care services at Singapore General Hospital and the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) in 1999. She also co-founded HCA Hospice Care in 1991, and served as its first president. 'Hospice Care Association (HCA) was a voluntary organisation. 'Doctors and nurses visited people in their homes so they didn't have to die in hospital,' said Dr Goh. Dr Goh says in recognition of her contributions, Dr Cynthia was hailed as the 'Mother of Palliative Care in Singapore'. Dr Cynthia's contributions helped bring palliative care into mainstream healthcare, and in 2008, she was appointed co-chair of the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA). Even after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2020, Dr Cynthia remained focused on strengthening the field. She envisioned a lasting platform to support palliative care across Asia, and had laid the groundwork for what would become the Cynthia Goh Palliative Care Institute (CGPCI). 'Upon knowing that she was dying, she wanted the work to continue and grow. 'That's the legacy that she left behind,' said Dr Goh. Dr Cynthia passed away in February 2022, at the age of 72. In her honour, the CGPCI was launched on July 1, 2023, during the Eighth Singapore Palliative Care Conference, housed within the NCCS under Duke-NUS Medical School, where she had long championed the cause. Photo shows the Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore, where together with SingHealth had established the Goh Hak Su Professorship in Colorectal Surgery in 2021, in honouring Dr Goh for pioneering the surgical specialty in Singapore, and also in Southeast Asia. — Photo from Funded initially by S$6 million (then, one Singapore dollar = RM3.19) in donations from family and friends, the institute's key objectives are to build regional palliative care capacity, train future leaders through the Cynthia Goh Fellowship, and serve as the permanent home of the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network (APHN). In recognition of her contributions, Dr Cynthia was hailed as the 'Mother of Palliative Care in Singapore'. 'Measure success by purpose, not wealth' When asked what would be his advice for those from the younger generation aspiring to succeed, Dr Goh emphasised the importance of placing values above material gain. 'Never put money at the forefront of what you are doing. 'When we plan our life, we should not plan with the idea of wanting to be rich first. 'When you have money in front of you, and that's your goal, then to me, life would not be so fulfilling.' He added that one must always strive to do their best, making the most of whatever opportunities being given to them. He said: 'I was very lucky. I wanted to become a doctor, and I was given the opportunity to become one. 'So, I always wanted to be as good as I could, and that has enriched my life tremendously.' Dr Goh also expressed his gratitude for the unwavering support from Dr Cynthia, who shared his values and stood by him throughout their time together. 'I was trained in England and had no obligation to return to Sarawak – I wasn't bonded. 'But I wanted to come back to serve. 'Most people, at that time, had wondered why we chose to move to a place like Sibu, as it's not a big city. 'But Cynthia supported me fully. She believed that it was important for me. 'It was unfortunate that we could not stay longer in Sarawak, but we were given great opportunities in Singapore to develop, and that's where we went.'
New Straits Times
a day ago
- New Straits Times
MONEY THOUGHTS: Aspirational Wealth
HAVE you ever wondered why and how voids drive values? If we suffer from a scarcity of health or time, most of our days are spent fixating on those lacks or, if you prefer, the "voids" in our lives. However, once we have overcome those challenges, our season of want (regarding those essentials) ends and stress levels fall. Might this also apply to monetary wealth? Going back centuries, the semantic root for the English word "wealth" stems from old words for "well-being", namely "wela" and later "weal". This reinforces the idea of holistic wealth — that for us to be truly wealthy, all facets of our overall being should "be well", hence the focus on "well-being". Nonetheless, "wealth" today almost always refers to material or monetary plenty. All my life I have been fascinated by money's divergent effects upon people, families and even whole countries. Consider this: A severe lack of personal wealth means impoverishment, while having enough of it, often, supports a contented lifestyle. Tragically, though, too much wealth sometimes leads to arrogance; a smug, inconsiderate ignoring of the plight of the less fortunate; and possibly self-destructive behaviour ranging from individual drug and alcohol abuse, to nations waging war and building weapons of mass destruction. Conversely, great wealth in the hands (and portfolios) of good people can catalyse a cascade of bounty to the world at large. (Consider Bill Gates' goal to eradicate malaria — for elaboration visit — as just one out of millions of disparate initiatives worldwide by caring human beings to make life on Earth better for everyone.) FOR GOOD OR EVIL So, considering how wealth may be used for good or evil, it is obvious that it is a magnifier which enlarges a person's (or a company's or a country's) capacity to do good things or bad things. (Note: More than two dozen years ago, when my wife and I incorporated our small company, in April 2001, the name we intentionally picked for this business vehicle was RD WealthCreation Sdn Bhd.) At its crux, wealth today stems from rising productivity, commonly achieved by harnessing human teamwork and digital technology. If you're interested in my daily work as an LFP (a licensed financial planner) who focuses on retirement funding solutions embedded within a holistic financial planning practice, you can imagine how often I use the word "wealth" (too often to keep track) when consulting with existing clients, onboarding new ones onto my practice, speaking to public and corporate audiences about financial planning, and writing about this crucial aspect of human life. Yet even as I return time and again to the importance of building wealth, I always reiterate that money is NOT the most important thing in life. MEASURED IN TIME Most of us already know that. However, we often tend to forget that truth during our exhausting, exacting trek on life's upwardly inclined treadmill. That's why financial guru Robert Kiyosaki's assertion that true wealth is, ironically, not measured in dollar terms but rather in time, rings so true to me. You'll better appreciate Kiyosaki's incredible insight if you first mull over one piece of advice from the ancient Roman stoic philosopher Epictetus, who lived about 1,900 years ago, only a few decades after Jesus Christ traversed the dusty plains of Judea. Epictetus declared, "Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants." His first two decades of life were as a slave in Rome during the reign of the mad emperor Nero. Now, please reread what Epictetus said, really focusing on his words. After that, we can circle back to Kiyosaki's assertion that wealth should be measured in time. To illustrate this, let's consider two men whom we'll call Adam and Zeke. Both have just retired and so no longer earn money from active labour. To simplify things further, we will assume they have both parked their respective nest eggs in a savings instrument that exactly matches their personal inflation rates. If Adam spends RM5,000 a month in his first year of retirement and has a starting nest egg of RM500,000, he'll run out of money — compensating for inflation — in 100 months or eight years and four months. And if Zeke spends RM20,000 a month in his first year of retirement, then even if he has RM1 million, his money will only last 50 months, or four years and two months. So, by Kiyosaki's interesting yardstick of measuring wealth in time — specifically the amount of time their money will last them, although Adam really has only half the money Zeke possesses, RM500,000 versus RM1 million, Adam is actually twice as wealthy as Zeke because his pile of wealth will last twice as long, eight years and four months versus Zeke's four years and two months. Do mull on that. Then spend the coming week figuring out how wealthy you are, not in terms of dollars or ringgit, but rather in time. Next week I will take things further and explain how we may generate infinite wealth (measured in years) even though our actual pile of wealth (measured in RM) is decidedly finite. Till then, do also focus on enhancing your overall well-being. © 2025 Rajen Devadason
New Straits Times
5 days ago
- New Straits Times
Man believed high on drugs attacks wife with electric guitar
TAWAU: A man suspected of being under the influence of drugs allegedly assaulted and threatened his wife with an electric guitar and scissors at Kampung Tanah Merah, Merotai Besar here, yesterday. The 44-year-old suspect reportedly became enraged at 7.13pm after his 36-year-old wife confronted him over suspicions of drug use involving syabu. Tawau district police chief Assistant Commissioner Jasmin Hussin said the man struck the victim's right shoulder with an electric guitar and then pointed scissors at her, threatening to stab her multiple times. He added that the suspect also punctured all four tyres of his wife's car to stop her from leaving to lodge a police report. "However, thanks to the swift action by police, the suspect was arrested near their home around 11.35pm following the victim's report," he said in a statement. Jasmin said police also seized the electric guitar and scissors used in the incident. "The suspect is now in custody to assist with investigations under Sections 323 and 506 of the Penal Code for voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation," he said.
