16 January 2007

Ensure quality medical care for all

Recently we witnessed the launching of the luxurious and very impressive one-stop cancer centre in Putrajaya by the Prime Minister and the Health Minister.

It is good that the government is trying to improve the treatment of cancer patients with the setting up of a centre in Putrajaya. The National Cancer Institute will be equipped with state-of-the-art equipment like the Cyclotron and PET-CT scanners. This would make our National Cancer Institute one of the premier cancer treatment centres in the region.

What is disappointing is the lack of oncologists. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek himself has admitted the training of oncologists had not been very successful so far as there are only 37 such specialists in the country. Like in all other specialities, we have to resort to foreign expertise to provide treatment to our own people despite our own sophisticated medical setup.

This is indeed a failure on our medical and health services.

Another disturbing fact is the late diagnosis of our cancer cases. According to the Health Minister, 80% of the 40,000 new cancer cases a year are diagnosed rather late and this does not augur well for the quality of medical and health care in the country.

Late and missed diagnosis is not limited to cancer cases alone. In fact in the peripheral hospitals even simple common conditions like acute appendicitis are missed, resulting in severe consequences, let alone more complex diagnostic problems.

The main problem of this is the non-availability of experienced doctors in the peripheral hospitals.This is the result of administrative mismanagement rather than actual shortage of doctors. Most of the senior specialists are confined to the major hospitals, leaving the smaller hospitals in the districts to be manned by very junior doctors with not enough experience in the management of the various diseases.

In fact we have reached a state where all our hospitals should be ideally is equipped with the latest medical equipment and have the services of resident senior doctors and specialists.

There is a dire need to beef up the level of care at the smaller hospitals in the country by decentralising the medical services. Instead of functioning as transit centres for patients to bigger hospitals, district hospitals they should in fact be equipped and staffed to treat all ailments and emergencies, leaving only those requiring sophisticated treatment to be referred to bigger centres.

Basic medical care is the legitimate right of every citizen and this should be made available easily for all regardless of their socio-economic status. It should not be confined to the major cities for the only advantaged few.

Dr Chris Anthony

One-stop cancer centre

Beef up care at the peripheral hospitals

I refer to your report “One-stop cancer centre”(Star,Jan 10).

We are very glad with the government in trying to improve the treatment of cancer patients with the setting up of the one-stop cancer centre in Putrajaya. We are also happy that this National Cancer Institute will be equipped with the latest state of the art equipment like the Cyclotron and PET-CT scanners. This would make our National Cancer Institute of the premier cancer treatment centres in the region.

What is disappointing is the lack of Oncologists. Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek himself has admitted the training of oncologists had not been very successful so far as there are only 37 such specialists in the country. Like in all other specialities, we have to resort to foreign oncologists to provide treatment to our own people in our own sophisticated medical setup. This to me is indeed a failure on our medical and health services.

Another disturbing fact is the late diagnosis of our cancer cases. According to the Health Minister 80% of the 40,000 new cancer cases a year are diagnosed rather late and this does not augur well for the quality of medical and health care in the country.

Late and missed diagnosis is not limited to cancer cases alone. In fact in the peripheral hospitals even simple common conditions like acute appendicitis is missed, resulting in severe consequences, let alone more complex diagnostic problems.Any advanced set up will be of little use if we do not have an efficient peripheral system to detect and refer cancers patients early.

The main problem of this is the non-availability of experienced doctors in the peripheral hospitals. Most of the senior specialists are confined to the major hospitals, leaving the smaller hospitals in the districts are to be manned by very junior doctors with not enough experience in the management of the various diseases.

In fact we have reached a state where all our hospitals should be ideally is equipped with the latest medical equipment and have the services of resident senior doctors and specialists. After 50 years of independence, we now have the most modern hospitals in the region but are plagued by the same old problem of shortage of specialists.

There is a dire need to beef up the level of care at the smaller hospitals in the country by decentralising the medical services., Instead of functioning as transit centres for patients to bigger hospitals, district hospitals they should in fact be equipped and staffed to treat all ailments and emergencies, leaving only those requiring sophisticated treatment to be referred to bigger centres.

Basic medical care is the legitimate right of every citizen and this should be made available easily for all regardless of their socio-economic status. It should not be confined to the major cities for the only advantaged few.

Dr.ChrisAnthony

Honor thy father and mother

12/26/2006 - 4:00 PM PST
By Dr. Chris AnthonyButterworth,
MalaysiaOp/EdCatholic Online

When we were children we were taught the Ten Commandments. The fourth commandment “Honour your father and mother” was of special significance to us as our parents were everything to us at that time.

I still remember week after week we went for confession and the most common sin was disobeying our parents and being rude to them. Very often we were angry with them for not allowing us to do as we wished, forcing us to study and reprimanding us when we do something wrong. Despite all the punishment that they meted out on us for our various offences, there was no doubt in our minds of their love and concern for us under all circumstances.

We can recollect the sleepless nights they spent taking care of us when we were sick, the moments of anxiety they went through when we were involved in some accidents and the tears they shed during intense prayer for our recovery.

We remember the strenuous labour and the mental stress they endured to earn a meager income to provide us with some basic comforts in life and a decent education, which they themselves were denied. All they lived for was the well being of our future not theirs. They did all that without any ulterior motive that one day we will repay that gratitude.

Today many of us are parents ourselves and only now fully appreciate the extent of love parents have for their own children. We understand the pain and anxiety we have to endure when our children suffer from all forms of ailments and failures in their lives. We realize the severity of the heartache when our children refuse to heed our advice and meet disaster as a result.

Some of us may be unfortunate to have our children inflicted with terminal illness and we are aware of the tremendous pain it causes everyday. Some of our parents too would have undergone such great torment in their lives.

Today many of us may are successful and are better off in life than our parents. Many, even our friends and relatives, would be jealous of our achievements especially when we are better than them. The only people who feel proud when we overtake them will be our parents. The joy and happiness that accompanies the successes of our children are immense and insurmountable.

We may have grown older and become more successful but sin against the fourth commandment, honour your father and mother, is still our common weakness although we may not realize it. In our later life, disobedience to parents is expressed in the form of negligence and apathy towards them when they become incapacitated and of no use to us.

We become calculative among the siblings of who should take care and provide for them when they are no more in a position to earn. When they become ill or handicapped we conveniently pass the responsibility of caring for them to others. We give the excuse we are too busy and have no time and no money. I admit it is not easy to take care of elderly parents who are invalid, especially in a fast moving materialistic world, but we fail to realise it is our responsibility and ours alone. We cannot run away from it.

The greatest fear among elderly people is loneliness. This is particularly true for those who have lost their spouses and are all alone in this cruel world. For many of them, it is not money, gifts or food that they need. All they ask for is the love of fellow humans in particular their children, to spare some time for them.

It is shocking that even we as Christians sometimes shun away from this responsibility to our aged parents. We are too busy with our jobs and church activities and pray hard that God will send somebody to take of them. We have the misguided notion that prayer alone without a heart and without lifting a finger would work miracles to provide the love longed for by our elderly parents.

As children do we recognize their needs and try our utmost to fulfill them or are we too preoccupied with our church rituals and pray that God will take care of them? One thing I am convinced; God does not come in person to do that. He works through His creations like you and me. If we just pray and wait for God’s miracle, we will be sadly disappointed.

Very often we, the children and priests are quick to anoint the sick and dying when in coma and subsequently give them a grand funeral service. We even offer masses and hold elaborate memorial services for the dead but lack the same enthusiasm in being supportive and being with them when they were alive.

Is the Church relevant in our lives?

We must make the Church relevant

1/14/2007 - 7:00 AM PST

By Dr. Chris Anthony
Butterworth,
MalaysiaOp/EdCatholic Online

Talk to any priest and his main complain will be the poor attendance at mass and poor participation of the parishioners in Church activities. In fact for every one who attends mass on Sunday, there are probably five others who do not. Why is this number of active participants dwindling over the years?

According to a new study commissioned by the Australian bishops, Catholics disconnected from Mass attendance and other parish life believe the Catholic Church is out of touch with the world today and is not relevant to their own lives.

This was according to the report “Catholics Who Have Stopped Going to Mass,” released by the the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference recently as reported in the Catholic Online dated 1st.December 2006.(www.catholiconline.com)

According to the report, the three most commonly mentioned factors that had the most powerful impact on Mass attendance, were:
1. Misuse of power and authority at all levels of the Catholic Church.
2. Irrelevance of the church to life today, as an institution “out of touch with Australian society.” “In their eyes the church had lost its ability to connect with the day-to-day lives of ordinary people and as a result they no longer regarded it as having the authority to guide them in living an authentic life.”
3. Lack of intellectual stimulation, with several noting that the sermons delivered in their parishes “were of poor quality, being ill-prepared, theologically unsound, badly delivered and irrelevant.”

It is encouraging that the Australian Bishops are taking the results of the study concerning “disconnected Catholics” rather seriously to further understand the very complex personal, spiritual and cultural factors which have seen a decline in church-going over recent decades.
I am sure if we conduct a similar study of our own “disconnected Catholics” the reasons given will not differ much from their Australian counterparts. I am sure most of our Catholics, “disconnected” and even a significant number of “connected” will agree that the Church is slowly but surely becoming irrelevant to their lives.

It is timely now for our own bishops and clergy to review the situation in our own country and take proactive measures to make our faith more relevant in the lives of Catholics.

Today the average man is under tremendous pressures to cope with all the problems he is forced to encounter. The greatest challenge is to bring up children who would grow us as individuals with good human values, let alone Christian values.

There is so much crime, violence and vice in the world and our children get entangled in them as they are not given the proper guidance in the home and schools. We, parents and teachers, are all too busy trying to cope with the demands of society. The Church and the clergy are burdened with their own problems and in process our children are totally neglected.

Managing the family is an arduous task these days. Firstly there are the marital problems to handle with the spouse and the in-laws. The Church is against divorce but this is increasing by the day even among Catholics. Where does the Church stand with its anti-divorce preaching when its followers are not in a position to follow that?

Then there are the rebellious children under the influence a very materialistic and immoral culture. To them even their parents are becoming irrelevant because of out-dated moral values. Where does the Church stand in their lives?

The teachings of the Church regarding pre-marital sex, adultery and abortion appears to have insignificant effects on them as these vices have become so rampant that in many societies they are being accepted as the norms.

In addition to these are the financial burdens, increasing cost of education, health care, housing and lack of job opportunities. To make matters worse there are the discriminating policies of the government, in schools and offices.

How is an average wage earner going to manage all these? There is nobody to turn to for help and guidance. The government agencies are of no help. His Church which used to be the bastion of defense fails him miserably.

The priests make it even more difficult by imposing their own unrealistic conditions. They seem to be only interested in large crowds at the various celebrations to participate in the numerous rituals which are of no meaning to an already over burdened individual. Instead of reaching to these estranged Catholics, they in fact further isolate them.

Amidst all these problems, Christ may look irrelevant, as he was to the Jews. But definitely He was relevant to us in the past, He is relevant at present and undoubtedly He will be so in the future. It is up to us to make Him relevant in our lives especially in this era of science and technology when man thinks he is almighty and does not need Him.

The Church must review its role towards that endeavor. It must change to be with the masses and not isolate itself with its outdated thinking based on human theology. There is no point in the Church singing the same old song to which less and less people are listening.

Polish archbishop resigns post amidst pressure over spying past

1/7/2007
Catholic Online

WARSAW, Poland (Catholic Online) – The newly-appointed archbishop of Warsaw resigned Jan. 7 just before he was due to be installed in his post and two days after admitting he spied for Poland's former communist regime.

The revelation that led to mounting pressure on Archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus to resign is a major embarrassment for the Vatican and the Polish Catholic Church.

Archbishop Wielgus read his resignation to those gathered at a special morning Mass in Warsaw Cathedral here that replaced a formal ceremony that was to have sworn him in.

"In accordance with (Canon law) I submit to your holiness my resignation as the metropolitan archbishop of Warsaw," said Archbishop Wielgus, who on Jan. 5 backed down from repeated denials that he collaborated with the secret services during the communist era.

The Vatican's apostolic nunciature in Poland said in a statement released by the Vatican said that the archbishop was asked to resign and that Pope Benedict XVI accepted it.
The mission said that the pope had asked Cardinal Jozef Glemp, Archbishop Wielgus' predecessor, to return as head of the Warsaw church temporarily until its future direction was determined, the brief statement added.

An official statement from the nunciature said that Archbishop Wieglus “on the day in which his installation in the basilica cathedral was to take place … submitted his resignation to his holiness Benedict XVI.” The pope, “in accordance with canon 401 no. 2 of the Code of Canon Law,” accepted the resignation and appointed Cardinal Glemp to the post “until new provisions are made.”

Canon 401 no. 2 reads, “A diocesan bishop who has become less able to fulfill his office because of ill health or some other grave cause is earnestly requested to present his resignation from office.”

“Archbishop Wielgus’s past behavior during the years of the communist regime in Poland greatly compromised his ability to bear authority, especially in regards to the Christian faithful,” Father Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio Jan. 7. He acknowledged that the archbishop’s “humble and moving request for forgiveness” and his resignation will have a therapeutic effect on the healing of the Polish church.

"The wave of attacks on the Catholic Church in Poland, rather than a sincere quest for transparency and truth, has many aspects of a strange alliance between the persecutors of the past and their adversaries and a vendetta on their part," Father Federico Lombardi told Vatican Radio.

The 67-year-old Archbishop Wielgus was named by the pope on Dec. 6 to succeed the retiring Cardinal Glemp, who remains the primate of the overwhelmingly Catholic country.

Just before Christmas, the Vatican released a statement insisting the pope had been fully briefed on Archbishop Wielgus' past and supported his appointment.

While the Catholic Church was a key and early supporter of the pro-democracy Solidarity movement during the 1980s, historians have suggested that a significant portion of the Polish clergy – up to an estimated 15 percent – may have been involved in collaborating with the Soviet-backed regime and its secret police.

Soon after the appointment of Archbishop Wielgus, Polish media reported that he had informed on fellow clerics for about 20 years from the late 1960s.

In the Jan. 5 statement, Archbishop Wielgus said that while he had had contacts with communist security agents, he denied reporting "on anyone nor deliberately try to hurt anyone."

He called “a falsification” the “various bad intentions and attitudes about the church” attribution to him.

Toll agreement: Secret document revealed

Beh Lih Yi

Jan 4, 07 5:52pm

The opposition today charged that the agreement between the government and Litrak - the concessionaire for the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP) highway - was clearly “lopsided and not done in the best interest of the people”. The agreement was drafted in such a way that it gives the government very little power but turns Litrak into a money-making machine, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) information chief Tian Chua told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

According to a secret document revealed by Chua, it allows the concessionaire to continue collecting toll irrespective of whether the company is reaping profits or making losses. “The government has very little power under the agreement. The concessionaire can continue to collect toll irregardless of how much collection it has made. “This is very different from the old concept of privatisation where the concessionaire was allowed to make certain collections over a stipulated period. After that, the toll gates should be closed down and the concession should be handed back to the government,” he added.

Chua said that the 200-page agreement signed on April 23, 1996, between the government and Litrak.DAP leader Ronnie Liu who was also present said the Umno-linked Litrak had recovered its highway construction cost three years after it started operation and recording profits from 2002 onwards.

According to Litrak’s 2006 annual report, the company had set a new record after collecting RM243 million revenue for its financial year ending on March 31, 2006 while recording a net profit of RM80 million. Fixed toll rates Meanwhile, Chua accused the government of “lying” when it said that it was negotiating with the concessionaire to reduce the toll rates as the rates have been fixed under the agreement for the entire concession period of over 30 years from 1998.

For instance, under the agreed toll payment schedule, Class 1 vehicle (passenger car) using the LDP will have to pay RM1.50 from year 1998 to 2006, RM2.10 from year 2007 to 2015 and RM3.10 for the year 2016 to the end of the concession period. The PKR leader said the way the costing was done was not transparent and it was also not explained. “There is no room for adjustment in this agreement. This is another government contract which does not benefit the public,” stressed Chua, adding he believed that other highway concession agreements are similar to the Litrak agreement that he has obtained.

He urged the government to immediately disclose the remaining concession agreements for public scrutiny in order to convince the people that the government has striked a ‘good deal’ with all the highway concessionaires.

Enact information act Asked on how he has obtained the agreement, Chua did not answer directly. “People who passed on this contract to us take a lot of risks. The authorities might put the seal of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) on this agreement later and the OSA can be enforceable retrospectively.

"However, we have to take this risk in the interest of the public,” he said. In this connection, PKR treasurer Khalid Ibrahim who was also present urged the government to enact a Freedom of Information Act to protect a free flow of information and the whistleblower.

Also present at the press conference were PKR leaders Dr Xavier Jeyakumar, Dr Sanusi Osman, PAS treasurer Dr Hatta Ramli and other members of the ad-hoc coalition of ‘Protest Toll Hike’ formed to oppose the recent toll hike at five major highways in the Klang Valley.

On Dec 14, the government announced that the toll rates for the five highways - LDP, Shah Alam Highway, Cheras-Kajang Highway, Kuala Lumpur-Karak Highway and Guthrie Corridor Expressway - will rise between 20 to 60 percent effective Jan 1.

New Year Wish

A wish list for 2007

Vasudevan

Malaysiakini,Dec 29, 06 4:07pm

Another year is coming to close. It has been a significant year from many aspects. However close to our hearts and minds will be the fact that Malaysia (excluding Sabah and Sarawak) will be celebrating its golden anniversary in 2007.

It will 50 years ago since we achieved independence from our colonial masters. It is the most important event in Malaysia. At this time, Malaysia is also at various crossroads. We should initiate our 50 years of independence celebration with a wish list detailing how and where we want to be heading in all aspects of life. Below is my wish list which I hope can be realised by the time we celebrate our 50th independence.

The removing from all forms, identification cards, passports, name tags, etc. the need to indicate one’s race or religion. The creation of the Bangsa Malaysia must be a priority and there should be no more such classification of the people.

The rekindling of the spirit of muhibbah by continuing the concept of ‘gotong-royong’, Rukun Tetangga and open houses. We must strengthen the spirit of our founders and collaborate to create a cohesive environment.

To abolish quotas, all to proceed based on meritocracy.

To re-establish local council elections to strengthen the decision-making process at local councils.

Let’s do away with nepotism and cronism.

To have a substantial effort to wipe out corruption at all levels. Let’s enact laws and implement them to tackle this scourge both in the private sector and in the government machinery

The restructuring of political parties, away from being race-based. This will make Malaysia stronger and more mature. End any sort of race-based political gathering which will incite racial tensions.

To re-engineer our economy to be a dynamic economy. To utilise our resources to the best of our abilities. We have lost our direction and competitiveness. We used to be the desired location for investment. Let’s get global experts to reignite our economy. Let’s embark on new avenues to further strengthen the foundation of the economy such as a modernisation of the agricultural industry and more focus on bio-technology, tourism, education and so on.

To put experts, regardless of race or religion, in charge of driving businesses and create a challenging environment for fair competition. Allow foreign models of developed countries to be implemented here so that we can progress towards being a developed nation by 2020.

To provide better welfare for the people .Let’s put our people in proper houses, provide them with good medical treatment and give them a good school system. Provide clean water for all. Clean air to breathe everyday. Let them see the sun clearly everyday. Even what we have taken for granted is now is not guaranteed at all.

To remove all laws that are an obstacle to being a mature society. To enable freer interreligious discussions towards creating clearly defined rules on religious matter.

To create laws that are equal to all and that protect the rights of each and every Malaysian. No one can be above the law.

To respect one other regardless of race, religion or colour of his skin. To promote a Malaysia race to the world. To help Malaysia take the next great leap in the digital revolution.

To 'sell' Malaysia as a peaceful and progressive country. To be an exemplary model for racial harmony, economic growth and opportunities for all.

God bless Malaysia.

Brotherhood of man

A prayer for peace and harmony

SA Rehman

Malaysiakini,Dec 29, 06 3:51pm

We all need to pray for one another, and to love one another. We should always pray for the safety, peace, love and brotherhood of people all over the world.

It’s too bad we can't have an independence day for the entire world. A day of freedom from ignorance, hatred, war, illusions, power and control. A day when we can all love each other as human beings and toss away the weapons of war. A day when we cast out our fears and the hatred from our hearts into the grave.

While we must mourn the deaths of the innocents all over the world, we must also give the children of the world hope for a peaceful, loving and beautiful world. A world full of love and without hatred or fear. A world where we can join hands together and accept one another regardless of our skin color, ethnic divisions, religion or nationality.

If we don't unite as a human race, then we have condemned the future generations of our children to a dark and very grim future. Let us think of love, compassion and peace always.

My prayer for peace and harmony:

"Merciful God, You made all of the people of the world and placed before us the pathway to salvation through different Preachers who have been Your Saints and Prophets.

But today millions of innocent men, women and children have so far been brutally killed and millions more will be butchered in the future if You do not guide and help us find ways to reunite peacefully.

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, please look with compassion upon the whole human family; take away the arrogance, divisions and hatred which have badly infected our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; reunite us in bonds of love and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish Your purposes on earth. That, in Your good time, all nations and races will jointly serve"

Fake goods

Wednesday January 3, 2007

Change public’s mindset regarding fake goods

The Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry enforcement unit, police and Penang Municipal Council should be lauded for their relentless efforts to curb the sale of pirated VCDs and other branded items, “Tourist belt raid nets fakes and DVDs” (The Star, Dec 22).

Punitive action against these errant traders is necessary, and the authorities must declare an all-out war against them.

It must nevertheless be borne in mind that this alone will not eradicate this illegal activity. We are all only too familiar with the scenario where these traders return soon after the raids are over.

They seem least bothered about the raids and appear to be well prepared for them.
Imitation of genuine products is not just confined to VCDs. In fact almost all products are being imitated these days.

Popular brands of clothes, shoes, sports wear, electrical appliances, handphones, watches and even food and drinks are being imitated and sold openly in the markets.In fact our popular pasar malam are full of such imitation products.

A number of parties, including the consumers themselves, are too be blamed for this unhealthy trade to flourish.

Most of us will agree the main reason is the unavailability of original VCDs at affordable prices.
Besides enforcing the laws the authorities must also act to overcome the root cause of this menace.

Original VCDs must be made available easily throughout the country and at a reasonable price.

Education is another very important factor in overcoming this menace. People's attitude must change to accept original and avoid fake products.

People must be taught to value the sacrifices of those who produce original work and not succumb to the “I must win all” policy that is prevalent in society today.

DR CHRIS ANTHONY,
Butterworth.