‘It’ll be a no-holds-barred probe’

Health Minister vows thorough investigation on ‘sex predator’

KOTA KINABALU: Health Minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has promised that investigations are being carried out “judiciously” on the case of alleged sexual harassment and bullying of female housemen by an orthopaedics department head of a Klang Valley hospital.

“I have instituted the investigation, and we want to conduct the probe judiciously.

“You must trust that we will do it (carry out investigations) in all confidentiality in order to safeguard the aggrieved victims who dared to come forward to share critical information with us.

“You must understand that if you want to get all those involved to come forward, you must give them the comfort that everything will be done right,” he told reporters at a press conference in Hospital Queen Elizabeth here yesterday.

He added that it is in the best interest of the entire investigation for the ministry to withhold information pertaining to the suspect, so as to prevent a trial by media.

Dr Dzulkefly said it was pointless to point fingers and throw accusations at individuals, when top priority should be given to carrying out the investigations well.

“Not that I know of,” he said, when asked to confirm a report by an online portal claiming that the Health Department had issued a gag order to stop medical officers in the hospital to divulge information regarding the department head.

“Our focus is on the investigation, and we think we can do well without the media over-exposing (the issue),” Dr Dzulkefly said, while reiterating that the ministry does not intend to stifle the press, but instead, be given some space to investigate the case.

Former Health director-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said the issue of specialists bullying and allegedly involved in sexual harassment should have been nipped in the bud.

“I don’t think house officers should be bullied,” he said during the talk “Are we ready for healthcare reform?” here yesterday.

However, Dr Mohd Ismail also said that there are always two sides to a story, and that the authorities will have to find out the facts of the case.

“But when more people start to come out and say similar things, you have to sit up and take notice,” he said.

He said that no one should support specialists who bully housemen, throw things at them, abuse them or molest them.

FEAR and ignorance are reasons why many cases of sexual harassment against women in the workplace go unreported, says Hannah Yeoh.

“Between 2015 and last year, a total of 47 cases of sexual harassment were reported in the public sector which has 1.6 million civil servants..

“I feel this may not be a real reflection of the situation,” said the Women, Family and Community Development Deputy Minister when replying a supplementary question by Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS-Rantau Panjang).

Despite having a mechanism for victims to lodge complaints, Yeoh said many were not aware of how to do it.

“There are cases in which the victim is an officer working under the wrongdoer, and is afraid to file a report,” she said.

Yeoh also said she was shocked at the response given by the Health deputy director- general ( Datuk Dr Azman Abu Bakar) over allegations of sexual harassment by an orthopaedic head of department.

“Under the civil service guidelines, there is no need for a police report for investigations to begin.

“We cannot be in a state of denial and brush everything under the carpet as the problem will persist,” she said.

Yeoh said all ministries should conduct a gender sensitisation course for their respective heads of department.

On sexual harassment in the private sector, Yeoh said only a handful of victims had come forward to lodge reports.

There are only 15 cases reported as at June this year, 24 cases last year and 26 cases in 2016.

“The reason for the low number of reports is because the code against sexual harassment is not mandatory while awareness is still lacking,” she said.

To a question by Maria Chin Abdullah (Pakatan-Petaling Jaya), Yeoh said her ministry was working towards drafting new laws on gender discrimination and gender equality.

On Sunday, The Star carried a frontpage expose of a sex predator in a Klang Valley hospital.

Since then, more victims, including housemen, have come forward to lodge complaints of sexual abuses in hospitals.