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Cabinet on Wednesday should decide whether to recommend the dismissal of Chua Jui Meng as Health Minister as he had not only failed the Seventh Malaysia Plan target to keep the DHF case fatality rate (CFR) to less than 1%, the DHF CFR last year was 10% or 1,000 per cent higher than the target and the highest percentage in his eight years as Health Minister Media Statement - at the launching of the DAP nation-wide "worst dengue epidemic in Malaysia" awareness campaign in Kampung Sungai Kerayong by Lim Kit Siang (Kuala Lumpur, Sunday): The Cabinet on Wednesday should decide whether to recommend the dismissal of Chua Jui Meng as Health Minister to the Prime Minister as Chua had not only failed the Seventh Malaysia Plan target to keep the DHF case fatality rate (CFR) to less than 1%, the DHF CFR last year was 10% or 1,000 per cent higher than the government target and the highest percentage in his eight years in Cabinet. In trying to justify his handling of the worst dengue epidemic in the nation's history and to explain why the dengue epidemic is still raging unchecked, causing unnecessary and avoidable deaths, Chua said on January 9 that the dengue situation in Malaysia was still endemic and had not reached an epidemic. On the dengue death toll, Chua said Malaysia had been able to keep the dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) case fatality rate (CFR) to 10 per cent (Berita Harian) as compared to other developing countries where the DHF CFR was as high as 50% with some countries reaching 70%. (Sin Chew Daily) Firstly, Chua had deliberately and irresponsibly tried to mislead the Malaysian public claiming that dengue was still endemic and not yet reached an epidemic. Dengue is endemic in Malaysia, as in the years from 1991 to 1995 when the annual number of dengue cases ranged from 3,133 to 6,628 cases, but in 1997 and 1998, dengue became an epidemic when the number of dengue cases shot up to 19,544 and 27,379 cases with 50 and 58 dengue deaths respectively - returning to endemic condition in 1999 with 10,008 cases and in 2000 with 7,118 dengue cases. The Health Ministry has conceded that there were 32,289 dengue cases as of 28th December last year , which already made last year even worse than 1998, the previous worst year recorded for dengue. Malaysia is currently facing not just an epidemic but a pandemic as warned by the World Health Organisation (WHO) last July. Can Chua clarify as to how many dengue cases must happen in Malaysia and how many more dengue deaths must occur before he is prepared to admit to a dengue epidemic in the country? However, what was more serious was his admission that the DHF case fatality rate last year was 10%, which waa most alarming statement although it received little notice at the time. (I also did not give it much notice as it was the same day that I was slashed with a knife in an attempted robbery). The first question was why Chua should compare Malaysia with the worst countries in the world instead of with the best - or just with Malaysia's own past public health record? The WHO had declared in a April 2002 document: "Without proper treatment, DHF case fatality rates can exceed 20%. With appropriate intensive supportive therapy, mortality may be reduced to less than 1%". (http://www.who.int/inf-fs/en/fact117.html) It was most shocking that Chua seemed to have forgotten that under the Seventh Malaysia Plan, the target for DHF case fatality rate was "not more than 1%". How could Chua publicly boast that Malaysia's DHF case fatality rate last year was 10 per cent when it was 1,000 per cent higher than the government target of less than 1%, the highest percentage in his eight years as Health Minister and way off the WHO international standard? In his statement on 9th January, Chua said as of December 28 last year, 4.080 million premises were inspected and 11.5 million premises fogged. Abate was used in another 214,128 premises while 1,617 gotong royong activities were carried out to clean up breeding areas. In the same period, RM2.134 million in fines was collected from 19,184 compounds issued and court action was taken against 550 people who paid fines totaling RM22,620. A total of 45 premises were closed. Chua had missed the point completely, as either he could not or refused to understand that what the public want are real-time information and full data of the worst dengue epidemic in the nation's history, with state and weekly breakdown of dengue cases and fatalities for last year and this year, which are essential for any nation-wide awareness campaign of the worst dengue epidemic to befall the nation and to save lives by stopping any more avoidable dengue deaths. Yesterday, I had asked point-blank whether the number of dengue deaths in the country last year were in three digits or in the region of a hundred deaths and not just 57, and whether there were some 20 dengue deaths last year in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur alone - but there had been no responses from Chua. After more than six months of the worst dengue epidemic in the nation's history, over 95% of the people should be alert and aware of the basic information about the deadly dengue disease, the aedes mosquitoes and the do's and don'ts to prevent DHF, but the opposite is the case - i.e. more than 95% of the Malaysian population are ignorant about these basic information. The DAP's "worst dengue epidemic in Malaysia" awareness campaign is to do what the Health Ministry has failed to do - to make all Malaysians quickly aware in the shortest possible time the do's and don'ts in a dengue epidemic and the basic information about the deadly dengue disease, that Aedes aegypti mosquito is the most important vector of dengue, that it transmits dengue via bite only, that it bites during daytime, and that it breeds in clean still water in containers around the home and neighbouring environment. Earlier this morning, I was in Port Dickson and visited the family of one of the latest dengue casualties, 13-year-old boy S.Vickneswaran, youngest in a family of three siblings from Kampung Bengali, Port Dickson, who died of dengue in the Seremban General Hospital on Tuesday. It is most shocking that one of the latest dengue deaths should take place in the constituency of the parliamentary secretary to the Ministry of Health, S. Solinathan - a measure of the failure of the government's anti-dengue campaign.. Vickneswaran's death, just as the three dengue deaths in Kampung Sungai Kerayong - the two Wazir sisters, Siti Zalikha Mohd. Wazir, 11, and Siti Zaharah, 13, who died within two days of each other on Christmas Day on Dec. 25 and 27 respectively and Wong Pui San, 13, Form II student with Bukit Nanas Convent with 5As in UPSR who died at the Tung Shin hospital on January 11, 2003 - were all unnecessary and avoidable if there had been nation-wide alert and awareness of the worst dengue epidemic in the country. DAP calls on radio, television and the print media to fully participate in a high-impact media campaign to create nation-wide alert and awareness about the worst dengue epidemic which is still raging unchecked to stop further unnecessary and avoidable deaths. DAP and DAPSY leaders will meet the editors of the print and electronic media, including radio and television, to seek their co-operation to bring the worst dengue epidemic under control and to save lives. (26/1/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman