your say The infamous ‘tidak apa’ attitude of both elected officials and government servants will result in many of our loved ones dying prematurely.

On H1N1: Time to get real serious

Panir Selvam: The health minister should take responsibility for the poor level of preparedness of the government in dealing with this flu pandemic, and resign. The infamous ‘tidak apa’ attitude of both elected officials and government servants will result in many of our loved ones dying prematurely.

In India with such a large population, the death toll so far is less than 20 compared to our 62! In my son's school, many of his classmates are down with flu. Yet the school is only concerned with exams and not willing to close the school.

As usual they are waiting for directives from the ministry, which is of course in limbo because there is no one leading this effort. Perhaps we need to march on the street to show our concern before the government will act.

Chang Hoe Yoon: I remembered as early as June 27, 2009, there was not a single death case of (A)H1N1 in Malaysia even though WTO has already announce a Level 5 alert of this disease. When I came back from Jakarta on that day, all passengers were given health declaration forms to fill, but to my surprise there weren't any health personnel at the airport to collect and verify the forms and there was no temperature screening.

This was due to our health authority being slow to take action and the ‘tidak apa’ attitude among the related authorities thinking that Malaysia is a safe place. Countries like Hong Kong, Japan and even China have already taking serious action on this. The health minister and DG (director-general) ought to be held responsible for all these.

Another is the intensified politicking in the country that took centre stage everyday in the newspapers, and politicians and government ministers, including the PM and DPM, are not sensitive on the epidemic spread of H1N1.

Worried: The college I work for is extremely reluctant to reveal any information about the number of students affected. We have more than 10,000 students and I see 95 percent of the students unaware of what is happening as they are more concerned about their assignments, exams and classes. I see students coughing and sneezing without any protection. Unless we make a very serious effort to educate our students, nothing is going to happen.

Let us first educate our lecturers, then the administration staff and finally the students. The seriousness should come from the heads and people in power first. Do we need many thousands to die before the wake-up call comes?

PT Tan: Unfortunately, we have cases where there are HINI reported among the school staff, yet nobody seem to know what to do. To close the school, to compel to wear mask, to ask those in immediate contact to stay at home - all these were not done.

We need to have a minimum SOP (standard operation procedure) in place fast, like now. Or else it is a case of fiddling while the virus burns away our lives. And all political bickering and MACC probes should stop for the virus knows no background or affinity. We should concentrate all our resources, thoughts and actions on a common enemy.

Dr Davin: My wife is a GP (general practitioner). Both she and her staff wear masks at work. She is facing numerous problems trying to handle the patient load. It is mostly flu-related illnesses. The public seems confused and afraid. The Health Ministry is giving out confusing statements as the pandemic evolves.

To top it off, there are no Tamiflu stocks available, only the generic drugs. The test kits said to be with all GPs, are also not available, besides being unreliable. We have more deaths, in ratio, then the UK. So who are we kidding?

This is a dangerous situation, not only alarming . Even doctors are sick with H1N1- some in critical conditions. Somebody better get a handle on it fast - let the MMA (Malaysian Medical Association) take the lead perhaps.

Dr Chew:

Since the heightened awareness of the use of surgical masks, I am beginning to see another social problem cropping up, even in hospitals - the used surgical masks being thrown here and there. For those who used the surgical masks, please know that the masks you used can be potential bio-hazard materials and be responsible to dispose them properly.

On Gov't against disclosing H1N1 hotspots

Fantastic4: This episode always remind me whether our leaders actually think through the issues before announcing or commenting to the media. This is certainly not the first time. Flip-flop policies seems to be the trademark. There are many examples, like education policies, Internet censorship and now this. Don't they think before they talk?

Lin Wen Quan: This is trademark of Malaysia Boleh - first deny, then cover up and let the people go about their business in blissful ignorance. With already so many reported deaths, we are only now talking about ordering additional the anti-viral drug, Tamiflu.

In Australia, at the first sign of an imminent outbreak of H1N1, all hospitals were issued Tamiflu as a stand-by measure. The moral here is, 'Take care of yourself and don't expect the government to take care of you'.