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KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 (Bernama) -- No one has been infected
with the H5N1 bird flu virus and the government is not hiding
any case, said Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek who urged
the public to ignore such rumors.
He said the approach adopted by Malaysia in dealing with the
current outbreak of bird flu in the country was acknowledged by
the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) as among the best
in the world.
According to him, his ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture
and Agro-based Industry were transparent in their handling of
the outbreak and frequently met the media to provide the latest
information for the public.
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"We not only call news conferences but also met all the state
executive councilors responsible for health, embassy officials
and representatives of business organizations.
"Therefore, it is not true that some bird flu patients had been
warded in government hospitals and we are hiding the fact from
the public," he said in reply during the debate on an emergency
motion on the bird flu outbreak tabled in the Dewan Rakyat,
Tuesday by M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat).
He said only 21 hospitals in the country have isolation wards,
personal protection equipment and the trained personnel to
accept and treat suspected bird flu patients. |
Minister of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin, who also spoke in reply, said the government
would assist chicken and duck rearers who suffered losses
because of the bird flu outbreak.
"Perhaps Bank Pertanian can discuss with them how to revive the
industry after the outbreak ends," he said.
He also made it clear that the money paid by the government to
the owners of birds culled was a consolation payment and not
compensation as it was not right for the government to bear the
huge cost of the loss.
Muhyiddin said he was very happy with the cooperation given by
villagers and breeders in the culling exercise.-- BERNAMA |
