Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye hitting a gong to mark the opening of the “Special Needs Across Lifespan” seminar held at Fatimah Hospital.
IPOH: The raid on a gynaecologist’s clinic in Bukit Damansara which has gone viral has got nothing to do with racial issues, says Deputy Health Minister Dr Lee Boon Chye.
He said the raid was conducted with the interest of the public in mind.
“Health is health; everyone falls sick, and sickness does not exist according to race, ” he told reporters after launching a “Special Needs Across Lifespan” programme at Fatimah Hospital here.
Dr Lee was asked to comment on several posts on social media stating that the raid by the Health Ministry stemmed from racial factors.
The raid on the clinic took place on Tuesday (Oct 1) following public tip-off that it had healthcare products that were not registered with the ministry, and that the premises was also not licensed by ministry.
“The owner of the clinic had been given chances to register the clinic for years, but he failed to do so.
“We conducted the raid in the interest of the public. The clinic should not be functioning without a licence, and action will be taken against the owner, ” he said, adding that the clinic would now be sealed by the ministry’s officers.
Dr Lee said the officers who conducted the raid followed the standard operating procedures without any force used.
On the clinic owner wanting to take court action against the ministry, Dr Lee said it was his right to do so.
On another matter, Dr Lee said the ministry welcomed the announcement by the Communications and Multimedia Ministry that it was looking into calls to ban the online promotion and sale of e-cigarettes and vape.
Dr Lee said the Health Ministry had been all along working closely with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in connection with online sales of nicotine containing vape liquid, as this was illegal under the Poisons Act.
“We also constantly monitor what is offered online, and we also communicate with a few online shopping sites and MCMC, requesting them to take down such advertisements.
“Even those marketing through Facebook, we communicate directly with the social media site to take down such advertisements.
“Of course, we notice some difficulty in this aspect, which is the same all over the world, where when one advertisement is taken down, there will be another 10 that pops up, ” he added.
However, Dr Lee said there would be continuous efforts to ensure such advertisements are not rampant.
He said the main concern is not just over the health aspect of vaping, but also because online marketing targetted children.
“That is the emphasis, to ensure that children will not be influenced by online advertisements, ” he added.
Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo had said on Friday (Oct 4) that his ministry would discuss with the Health Ministry and MCMC to see what could be done to tackle the issues. - Star
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