By Sam Trailerman
Look, let's not pretend. I saw those three photos from HTAR Klang and I didn't need a press release to understand it.
First photo - it's a corridor. Not a waiting hall, not a lobby. A corridor. Wheelchairs lined up like Myvis parked double-park on a Friday night at Pasar Malam. People sitting on the floor because chairs finished long time ago. Patients finished long time ago also, but the crowd never finishes.
Second and third photos - the ward. Walau eh, bed to bed so close you don't need to call the nurse, you can just borrow panadol from the uncle next to you. One aunty said in Kajang Hospital, it's arm's reach. Here in Klang, same story. Trolley, oxygen tank, patient's file, patient's family, all trying to breathe in one small square that KKM thought was enough for half the people.
And this is not new, boss. One doctor commented, very relax only: "Bro, this same picture when I was houseman in 2016." 2016! Ten years ago! Same scene, same corridor, same sardine tin ward. Only thing changed is now we have iPhone 15 to take clearer picture.
Now before we start bashing, we must separate two things. Because even the angry comment section under Krishna Govinth's post, for once, got it right.
Nobody is angry at the staff.
I went and read all 60-plus comments. People are cursing, sarcastic, fed-up, want to throw something at Putrajaya. But when they talk about doctors, nurses, MA, the makcik at counter?
"I salute the workforce at HTAR. They do their best."
"Every staff, no one idle."
"My respect, you all are my heroes."
One uncle even remembered one staff - one person only - walking along the long queue at registration, checking one by one, "Eh you go lane B faster."
Small thing, but he remembered for years. Because in a place where system has already given up, small kindness feels like lottery win.
That's the real Malaysia story, la. Our government hospitals are not running because of the system. They are running in spite of the system. Held together by tape, goodwill, and overworked Malay, Chinese, Indian nurses and doctors who refuse to let the patient die on their shift.
And what are we asking them to hold?
Code Blue published the letters. Real letters, not KKM poster.
February 10th: One MO from Medical Department wrote - HTAR Medical left with 15 housemen, 40 MOs. One MO covering 30 to 35 patients in ward. One! Imagine you jaga 35 patients at once. My mother asks me to jaga one nephew for 2 hours I already want MC. These guys do 6-7 on-calls a month, night time no houseman at all. Ghost ward.
Then July 7th, surgery people cannot tahan already. Title of their letter: "HTAR Klang's Surgery Department On Verge Of Collapse." They didn't use fancy language. They said, "Beyond safe human and operational limits."
Beyond safe human limits. That sentence should be framed and hung in Parliament.
20 MOs - 15 general surgery, 1 Pediatrics surgery, 4 neurosurgery - covering three surgical wards, 40 patients each ward, plus 3 ICUs, plus emergency referrals, plus OT, plus clinic, plus transferring patients to other hospitals. 300 to 400 patients a day.
ED throws them 30 to 50 referrals in 24 hours for one MO. Clinic - one doctor sees 35 to 40 patients per session. Morning clinic drags till 2-3pm. Afternoon clinic till 7.30pm. And that same doctor was on call the night before, no sleep, and must be back at 8am. No protected rest after 36-hour shift. 36 hours! Lorry driver cannot drive more than 8 hours, but doctor can cut people after 36 hours no sleep? KKM says can.
69 to 84 hours a week. 7 to 9 on-calls a month.
They wrote about a case - upper GI bleed, serious one, patient arrested in ward. Not because doctor no skill. Because no bodies to watch.
And you know what JKNS replied on July 9th? Very government reply. Actually we have 32 MOs, not 20. Correction noted, thank you. But yes, numbers in flux due to placements, temporary impact on roster planning. Temporary. A decade of temporary. If it's temporary for ten years, it's permanent la, boss.
Now here comes my favorite part. The Ministry.
Ah, KKM. King of Town Halls.
On June 16th, HTAR Director Dr. Sarina Sidek held a town hall. All the MOs raised everything - manpower, no rest, clinic overflow, patients dying. According to the letter: "No definitive response or solution was provided."
Perfect. That is our government in one sentence. "We hear you. We note your concerns. We will reorganize the roster. Please continue not to let anyone die while you are hallucinating from exhaustion. Thank you."
Meanwhile rakyat in comments asking real questions that no press statement will answer.
Why we got billions for Penang LRT but HTAR patients sleep two days on wheelchair before getting bed? Kak Ayu said two days, bro. On wheelchair.
Why got money to build hospital in Gaza, money for F1, money for after-life program - one uncle wrote that, brilliant - but no money to hire more MO and nurses? Why HTAR parking now got paid parking system - wow, progress! - But beds still stuck together like nasi impit?
And why - this is my favourite - why all VIPs, ministers, Datuks never go GH? As one commenter wrote in BM, "sebab vip2, menteri2 semua pun tak pergi hospital kerajaan, dok pergi hospital private, sebab tu la hospital kerajaan ni di anak tirikan." Exactly. It's a stepchild hospital because the fathers who fund it never have to sleep in it.
One guy wrote, "You give a microbiologist to steer the ministry and you get this." A bit harsh la, but I understand. When the boss at top is old, comfortable, will never have to do 36-hour call himself, people start saying, eh bring Dr. Lingeshwaran la, he at least walks the ground.
And the most Malaysian thing will happen next. As Hari Krishna Rau wrote: "Relax, nanti tiba-tiba ada audit ke lawatan hilang la tu. Our ppl are good at showcasing layouts."
Tomorrow got audit. Got minister visit. Suddenly corridor clear. Beds got distance. Everyone smile. Photos nice. Minister posts on Facebook, "We care." After visit, back to sardine tin. We all know this drama. We have watched this drama since we were kids.
We have normalized the unsafe. We call it resilience. We call it dedication. What it really is, is we have no choice.
Today even middle class also coming to GH because private hospital charge is crazy high. One man Supramaniam wrote, exorbitant. Foreigners, Rohingyas, all come same bottleneck because where else to go? 90-year-old mother bleeding head, wait hours in red zone, then go private clinic anyway.
Penang GH serves three states - Penang, Perlis, Kedah. Wives waiting for ambulance from 3 am to noon in open parking. Under hot sun.
And yet in that same hell, one staff walks the queue to help. One nurse covers three wards at night. One MO doesn't eat, doesn't rest, still goes station to station.
So don't blame the hospital. Don't blame the doctor. As Rajan Periannan said, patient too many, time to build new hospital.
Or as Thinagar wrote, decline started decades ago, every government promised, but once in power, main objective enrich family and cronies. "A total collapse is imminent."
That is not Chat GPT speaking. That's a Malaysian uncle who queued at GH, sat on floor, waited 6 hours, and still says thank you to the nurse. Image
They are mirror. And if we keep acting like we didn't see the mirror, don't be shocked when one day the mirror breaks and cuts us all.
Nganasegaran (tapessam@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact creator@newswav.com.
