KUCHING, May 21: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri James Masing calls on the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) to come down hard on individuals holding fake medical certificates.
Masing asserted this is a serious issue as it may lead to to the grave consequence of causing people to lose their lives.
“It is my hope that the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) will clamp down on those who claim to be medical doctors without undergoing years of stringent medical training.
“Please check through your list and sieve out those who may be called doctors but have not gone through the required and proper medical training. There are some fake doctors around, having a ‘Dr’ on their name cards but the training that they have gone through, did not qualify them to be one.
“They are not only phony but pose a danger to our society because the public in general might not be able to tell them apart from real medical doctors and will go to seek their advice in times of illness,” Masing highlighted in a statement today.
Meanwhile, Masing who is also Infrastructure and Port Development Minister congratulated the Indonesian government for clamping down on individuals using fake medical certificates to circumvent Covid-19 travel restrictions.
He thus advocated that only clinics endorsed by legitimate medical institutions be allowed to conduct Covid-19 tests.
“Faking medical results during a health crisis is as dangerous as individuals walking around pretending to be trained medical doctors. In both circumstances, other people’s lives may be put in danger.
“That was why I warned a few days ago, that testing of Covid-19 must be done by clinics endorsed by legitimate medical institutions in Malaysia.”
He advised the public to be patient if they faced longer waiting times at recognised clinics or medical institutions.
“If it takes a long time to get tested, please wait. Just be patient. Don’t rush and go to some clinics that are using some test kits that are not certified where the results are unreliable. It is better to be safe than sorry,” Masing added.
Channel News Asia today reported police in Indonesia are clamping down on sellers of fake medical certificates, reportedly used to circumvent travel restrictions to curb Covid-19 in the country.
These medical certificates are needed for the holders to travel for business or work.
Fraudulent medical certificates are sold between USD3.37 to USD20.23 per copy, according to the news channel. — DayakDaily
