MMA reiterates stand it does not condone any form of bullying

KUCHING: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has reiterated that it does not condone any form of bullying.

Its president Dr Koh Kar Chai said criticisms leveled against MMA was unfair as the association has been actively addressing the issue of bullying among healthcare workers for many years.

“We refer to the news report published on FMT titled ‘Junior doctors accuse MMA of playing down bullying cases’ and comments made today (May 11) by Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy on the issue of bullying.

“It is clear that the Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) group and the Penang Deputy Chief Minister II have not read MMA’s full press statement issued on May 10, nor did they witness our press conference which was also held that day.

“The comments seem to be based on a few media reports they read and not our full press statement,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Dr Koh said what MMA is saying is that it is time that bullying be properly defined so as to be able to identify genuine cases of bullying to allow appropriate action to be taken on the perpetrators.

“All cases of bullying need to be reported for action to be taken. Though much has been mentioned on social media, only a handful has actually been reported which does not mean that there are only a few cases.

“It may be the tip of an iceberg and this is indeed cause for worry and concern. Those affected by bullying must also not remain silent,” he said.

He said MMA understands that there is reluctance among victims to report through the normal channels and as such, the association had set up its own helpline called HelpDoc in 2016.

“So it is unfair to label MMA as not being aware of the current situation.

“In fact, MMA has the foresight to initiate actions on this,” he said.

He added that MMA has never downplayed the issue of bullying, hence the call made to end the culture of fear within the Ministry of Health.

“However, we wish to once again state that medical practice is a high stress profession involving patients who may be in a life and death situation.

“The stressors at work involve everyone on the team, from the consultants down to the house officers,” said Dr Koh, adding that teamwork is essential in the provision of healthcare.

In the FMT report, a HDK spokesman, who wished to be identified as Dr Syed, said MMA was ‘out of touch with reality’ and that their statement was troubling as it mentioned only ‘severe cases’.

Ramasamy meanwhile, slammed MMA for allegedly trying to downplay the bullying of housemen at government hospitals.