When my flight from Jakarta touched down KLIA at 10.45pm last night, I noticed the H1N1 screening counters (right before the Immigration checkpoint) had closed shop. Passengers just walked right into the country without thermal screening. If someone in that flight was carrying the H1N1, we would have had it (I'm crossing my fingers for the 7-day watch-period to be over without an incident for myself). Referring to the highlighted Bernama report above, I think the Health Minister doesn't know what's actually happening on the ground (Woi, don't la call upon the PDRM and Immigration to help watch out for the potential H1N1 infected; the PDRM has their fare share of issues such as illegal airport taxi touts to take care of, potential drug smugglers to watch out for etc. The Immigration on the other hand has their own stuff to care of).
Anyway, on the other flights which I have been through at the KLIA these bunch of guys behind the thermal cameras really look bored and sleepy each time I pass them. I wonder if they really concentrate on the thermal screens or just looking at the lenglui passengers? Are there checks to ensure officers deployed to the entry and exit points do their jobs effectively. For a virus which has the potential to develop into something fatal, such slack controls adopted at our entry and exit points is definitely not it.
Below: H1N1 advisory cards handed out at the KLIA upon arrival of passengers.
Yup, this is flu control.
Anyway, is it not funny - the workers at all the retail outlets in KLIA are not screened daily when they finish work and get out of KLIA?
ReplyDeleteThese people come in contact with many arriving passengers who purchase duty free items, and yet are not screened when they leave the premises.
Apa macam punya 'tight' screening ini?
Main-main kah?
This is always the response of people who are ignorant about H1N1 because they don't have the brain and will to seek the information about H1N1.
ReplyDeleteH1N1 is not some deadly disease. In US, UK and Australia, termal scanner is NOT even used in their airport. Those screen positive WILL NOT be admitted or QUARANTINED. Only those with symptoms will be treated. So brother don't be so panic like little chicken, you only make yourself look stupid.
If you are doing this just to discredit the gov, I suggest you used other issue.
"...H1N1 is not some deadly disease..."? Hello! Hundreds of death in Mexico and 2 in Philipines!
ReplyDelete"...response of people who are ignorant..." Are you talking about yourself?
Malaysians are usually insensitive and lackadaldaisy about crises management whereas countries who have gone through SARs and the likes are sensitive, proactive and genuinely care about its citizen.
Do you belong to the "to hell with public's interest, it is the cronies' that's importance" brigade.
To Anonymous of 4:40 ...
ReplyDeleteFor someone who has no balls to put his name (or a nick) on a comment written here sure can talk tough.
I hope you don't mind if I call you "useless eunuch" on this score since you yourself are quite liberal with name-calling.
Anyway, it does not matter if the piece written is to "discredit" the govt or the opposition, it is the writer's observation on an issue that has vast ramification on a nation's health and therefore its survival and he's just recording his fear and disappointment. If H1N1 is not "deadly" as you put it, then why is it people are dying? What other countries don't do to protect their citizens is their business, we expect no less than what is responsibly expected of our authorities. Haven't you heard the saying, 2 wrongs do not make a right?
Since you are so knowledgeable about H1N1 and has claimed that it's not "deadly," would you have the guts to go and mingle with the carriers?
Oh I forgot. I should not have asked you to do that. You have no balls.
- ewoon -
As a Malaysian living in US, I kinda agree with anom 4:40. Let's talk about the facts, I am not interested to entertain any kinda personal attack. I have a feeling that many people in Asia over react to H1N1.
ReplyDeleteUS has plenty of researchers working day and night on H1N1, but from what I read recently, Malaysia has none.
Many of us scared of ghost because it is something that we don't know about. Same thing applies to H1N1, many of us scared of it because we don't have much info about what exactly H1N1 is.
H1N1 is not a virus with high MORTALITY, but it is virus with high MOBILITY. I feel like US officers and researchers doing a good job here.
The people are well informed and taking precaution but not in a panic state.
swee3
I did not say one will drop dead upon contracting H1N1 did I. Well, H1N1 is not something we don't know about either- it has transcended from pigs and mutated with human influenza viruses to form its present state, and has the potential to mutate further into a more dangerous strain. The WHO did not declare this as a pandemic for nothing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the potential impact of the flu on the economy is damaging- imagine an office or factory worker being infected- the whole factory will have to be quarantined and cease production resulting in multi-million losses. Extrapolate this situation to the industrial parks, retail industry, travel industry and so on. We learnt this from the SARs in 2003 didn't we.
It is not a question of 'being scared' nor being critical of the government as Mr ewoon says. The word is 'preemptive measure' and why should we be so ignorant and to say that all is ok when it is not.
Look, merely a week has passed after the posting of this blog and the virus is getting as uncontrollable as ever.
I sincerely thank constructive commentors here.