From Dec 15-16, the UN Asian Meeting in Support of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People took place at the Hotel Istana in Kuala Lumpur with something like 200 participants or more from around the globe. I was one of the local participants, together with some colleagues and friends from other Malaysian organisations.

I attended the reception for the conference participants on Dec 16 at the hotel's Taman Sari banquet room.. I left at about 8pm and drove home. By 9.30pm I began to feel nauseous. Soon after, I had bouts of vomiting and purging, which lasted most of the night. Obviously, I had contracted food poisoning. My colleague who had also been at the reception called me on Sunday morning to tell me that she was also suffering from food poisoning.

I decided to call Istana Hotel. They then gave me the runaround. I had to call three times (they insisted I call again, and not passing on the call) before talking to someone who could take a report on food poisoning. Unfortunately, I did not ask for his name. He coldly told me that I should purchase medication from a kiosk (there is one at the hotel) or a pharmacy if I was not well. He asked me for my name, which I gave him, together with the name of my colleague who was sick. When I insisted on some further action from the hotel, he hung up on me.

Later on Sunday, I came to know that more than 25 participants of the UN meeting had come down with food poisoning. Hardly a good calling card for a five-star international hotel.

What really makes me angry is the way in which I was treated on the phone. There was total denial from the hotel's side. They did not take me or my report seriously at all. I felt really ashamed about this whole incident and did not know what to tell the good people from the United Nations who had organised the event or the international participants who had come from afar to enjoy some Malaysian hospitality.

As of Monday this week, I was still feeling weak and had a raging headache and a temperature of 38˚C. My colleague, who was more seriously affected, had to seek treatment at a clinic. I do not know what the other 25 people did and how they are today.

The whole incident is a real shame on Istana Hotel. I certainly will not go there again nor consider them as venue for any of my organisation's events. I am not asking for compensation. An apology and some human concern for those who fell ill would be nice though.

The writer is executive director, Malaysian Social Research Institute (MSRI).