CodeBlue

In a next level scheme at Tunku Azizah Hospital (HTA) in KL, a 28-year-old N1 admin assistant (pembantu tadbir or PT) allegedly scammed at least 187 housemen in the paediatric department of the government hospital out of more than RM47,000 over the past two and a half years from Sept 2023 to March 2026. The female junior PT's alleged con was two-pronged: collecting an RM900 "refund" by falsely claiming that the government "overpaid" emoluments and a “fee” of RM40 to RM45 for a compulsory course, the neonatal resuscitation programme (NRP), that was actually free of charge. Payments by 187 known victims – all doctors during housemanship postings to HTA’s paediatric department – were either banked into the admin asssistant's personal account or physically paid to her in cash, totalling RM47,210 over the past 30 months. The 187 people paid the PT either RM45 or RM40 each, except one who paid RM120, under the NRP scam, totalling RM8,210. Forty-two of them were additionally hoodwinked by the salary scam, with 40 housemen getting cheated of RM900 each, one of RM1,200, and another of RM1,800, totalling RM39,000. Based on CodeBlue’s interviews with a dozen victims this week, most, if not all, of the deceptions and financial transactions in the admin assistant’s alleged criminal fraud occurred in their workplace at HTA. The junior doctors said they didn’t think much about making payment to the PT’s personal account at the time, citing a heavy clinical work burden and trust in “Kak S*****”, whom they relied heavily on for human resource responsibilities. “She showed me the QR code and said it was her personal account. I never hesitated and I never doubted because I never thought of being scammed by her since she’s the admin. Whatever she said, I fully trusted her. So I straight away banked it to her," a houseman told CodeBlue. RM900 Salary Scam: Forged Document The PT allegedly used a forged document to convince house officers to pay her a "refund" of RM900, supposedly because the government "overpaid" their RM300 monthly Imbuhan Tetap Khidmat Awam allowance. Her alleged modus operandi (MO) involved setting up one-on-one meetings in her office on Level 6 of HTA with her victims, during which she falsely claimed to junior doctors that the government had “overpaid” their emolument for the first three months of housemanship by RM900. She gave them a form to sign. The fake document titled “Bayaran Balik Emolumen Terlebih Bayar PPS”, which had the doctor's name and IC number, was actually a forgery of a genuine Gantian Cuti Rehat document. The PT gave housemen two options to pay the RM900 "refund": by cash in an envelope that they could submit to Unit Gaji themselves or via QR code to her personal account. Her victims all chose to directly bank in the money to her. RM45 NRP Scam: Housemen Batches on Orientation Day If the admin assistant's MO for her alleged RM900 salary scam was individual shakedowns during personal meetings in her office, her alleged RM45 NRP hustle defrauded entire groups of house officers during orientation at the MOH hospital. Being the sole PT in charge of trainee doctors in HTA’s paediatrics department, she conducted briefings alone for housemen on the first day of their posting to the department, without anyone else present in the room. Housemen were told varying accounts of the RM45 payment for the compulsory NRP course: a fee, or for books or certification, but these were actually free of charge. Based on CodeBlue’s interviews, the admin assistant wouldn’t let the trainee doctors leave the room until everyone paid her RM45 there and then, either via QR code to her personal account or cash. End of 30-Month Scam Two of the PT's victims ended her 30-month scam last March 27, after the house officers went to Unit Gaji and the human resource department and discovered that the RM900 form was a fake document. At least 13 police reports have been filed. CodeBlue understands that the admin assistant, who is reportedly a contract staff under the government's MyStep programme, has since been terminated. When contacted, the PT told CodeBlue that she was “cooperating” to resolve the “financial issues”, adding that she hoped “this issue can be resolved privately and not published in an article”. In a WhatsApp message to a houseman, the 28-year-old woman claimed that this was the "first time I did something like this" and that her family was in debt with loan sharks. HTA and MOH Putrajaya declined comment, citing the ongoing police investigation. Read more: codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Liquid Nicotine Exemption Contradicts Planned Vape Ban: Bandar Kuching MP codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Bandar Kuching MP Kelvin Yii tells Putrajaya to be honest about whether it still intends to ban vape, after the Poisons Board reportedly approved a proposed exemption of liquid nicotine from the Poisons List. “The rakyat deserves an honest explanation.” codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Sejarah Hitam Negaraku: Will Malaysia Repeat The Nicotine Betrayal? codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Recruitment Alone Will Not Solve Sabah’s Doctor Shortage codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

MyWatch warns the Madani government against renewing efforts to exempt nicotine vape from the Poisons List, saying a repeat of the 2023 decision would undermine the High Court’s ruling and betray public health, particularly children’s interests. codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

MMA says 750 permanent MO posts will not solve Sabah and Sarawak’s doctor shortages without better incentives and working conditions. Sabah saw 67% of replacement doctors from outside the state fail to report for duty. codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Beyond The Building: Examining Systems At Klinik Kesihatan Kuala Lumpur codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Klinik Kesihatan Kuala Lumpur must review how specialists, gazettees, trainees, and medical officers are deployed to ensure fair workloads and clinical coverage. Clearer roles for nurses, assistant MOs, and support staff could also improve patient flow. codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Make Lung Cancer A Notifiable Disease With Mandatory Reporting codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Lung Cancer Network Malaysia urges the Health Ministry to require all public and private health care facilities to report new lung cancer cases, including clinical staging, to improve national cancer data and health care planning. codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

In a departure from its 2023 decision, the Poisons Board (which now has different members) recently endorsed Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad's proposal to exempt nicotine e-liquids from the Poisons List, paving the way for complete legalisation of nicotine vapes. Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS) president Amrahi Buang says the Poisons Board held a secret ballot to decide on whether to support the proposed exemption of liquid and gel nicotine used in e-cigarettes and vape from the Poisons List. "The Ministry has to answer this – on the reasons why the exemption was given," Amrahi told CodeBlue. A source told CodeBlue that the Poisons Board's decision to support a proposed exemption of nicotine-containing vape liquids from the Poisons List wasn't a "commercial" one. When asked if the Poisons Board opposed a ban on vapes, since it decided to approve legalising nicotine vape via an exemption from the Poisons List, the source denied this. "We want stronger enforcement of Act 852 (Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Act 2024)." If Dzulkefly proceeds to gazette the liquid nicotine exemption order (which has yet to be published on the AGC's legislation portal), it will mark a reversal of his stance last year about how banning vape wasn’t a question of "if" but "when". The exemption order will end regulatory conflict between the Poisons Act 1952 (Act 366) and Act 852. Under Act 366, liquid nicotine is restricted to dispensation by pharmacists or doctors as a Group C poison. At the same time, Act 852 permits the sale of nicotine vapes to adults for recreational use. The regulatory conflict was triggered by a de facto ban on nicotine vapes by the High Court last May when it nullified a 2023 order by then-Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa to exempt liquid and gel nicotine used in e-cigarettes and vape from the Poisons List. Three years ago, the Poisons Board unanimously opposed Dr Zaliha's proposed exemption of liquid nicotine from the Poisons List. Three anti-tobacco groups then filed a judicial review application against the minister's 2023 exemption order and won their case in May this year. The Poisons Board currently consists of 11 members appointed by the health minister, including a representative each from MPS and the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA). Both the pharmacists' and doctors' groups have previously called for a ban on vape. Read more: codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Poisons Board Endorses Proposed Exemption Of Liquid Nicotine codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

The Poisons Board has approved Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad’s proposal to exempt liquid nicotine from the Poisons List, paving the way to once again legalise nicotine vape via a minister’s order, even as Dr Dzul previously claimed he wanted to ban vape. codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Malaysian Anaesthesiologist First Asian To Lead Global Pain Association codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Dr Mary Cardosa becomes the first Asian president of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) in its more than 50-year history, after decades of advancing pain management in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Private Hospital Beds Officially Surpass Public Beds In Penang: Exco codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

Penang now has more private hospital beds (2,853) than public hospital beds (2,130), says exco Daniel Gooi. Half of Malaysia’s medical tourists go to Penang. He says some doctors at Sunway Medical Centre Penang previously worked at Seberang Jaya Hospital. codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

New Health Service Commission, Same Old Excuses On Health Care Pay codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

The proposed Health Service Commission (SPK) must have powers over health care workers’ pay and allowances, instead of leaving decisions to MOH, MOF, or JPA. Without such authority, SPK risks being toothless and unable to address staff retention. codeblue.galencentre.org/202…

IHH CEO Reveals Uncomfortable Truths Of Malaysian Health Care codeblue.galencentre.org/202…