YOURSAY | Don't allow issue of hygiene to mutate into a religious controversy.

Sick and disgusted with sexist remarks on nurses’ sleeves

Mojo Jojo: It is rather sad that organisations like the PPIM exist to arm-twist every issue into a religious or racial matter. The issue is rather simple: is it hospital policy to wear short sleeves for reasons of hygiene or not, and was the former nurse fired for disciplinary issues? If it is, then whence cometh the matter of religiosity and ethnicity to complicate things?

Ah-hah!!!: I too was aghast that PPIM president Nadzim Johan could have so arrogantly dismissed the importance of serious hygiene issues, which precludes long sleeves for nurses. His summary deriding of that reflects his gross ignorance and bigoted mentality.

Rather than consult knowledgeable experts, both in medicine and Islam, he chose to speak as if he was the expert. This issue has been blown into a Malay-Muslims against "others" conflict. It will take mature leadership to resolve this - something that’s sadly missing in the political-sectarian morass we are mired in these days.

Lone_Star: SRN Norman Goh, you have it right. This PPIM guy is just out to get some publicity and has nothing else in his head. Why has it got to be like that? The nurse involved in the dispute should just approach the Labour Dept to settle her employment problems, if any.

Meanwhile the Nurses' Association and Ministry of Health should step up and clear the issue of nurses' uniforms and put a stop to the nonsense created by the PPIM chief.

Doc: If Malaysian private hospitals hire Malay nurses and tell them they have to wear short sleeves for infection control, thus ensuring that their patients receive the optimal treatment they are paying for, organisations like PPIM will go on a rampage, saying the private hospitals are going against Islamic principles and forcing their staff not to "tutup aurat".

If the private hospital insists Malay nurses wear long sleeves in line with their Islamic requirements and the infection rate goes up thus causing death in some immuno-suppressed patient, which is a strong possibility, and the hospital gets sued for gross negligence in infection control practice, will PPIM foot the legal fees?

Lastly, if the private hospital decides to hire non-Malay nurses only that have no religious obligations in following infection control guidelines, Umno Youth will go into a frenzy, calling that hospital a racist for not hiring Malays. Now you see why investors are fleeing Malaysia?

Desperate for Change: Nadzim Johan, I guess you will understand what infection is all about when you are admitted to the hospital. Leave the hospitals to do their jobs. This is an internal rule and employers are allowed to have internal rules as long as they can justify why they have it. If the nurse is not happy, look for another hospital. Do not make a mockery of this.

Malaysian Born: An ignorant opportunist uses any issue that can be twisted and perverted into a religious controversy so he can seem relevant and a hero. This is clearly a medical issue related to infection risks.

If he wants to go Taliban, then the next step would be to ban all women from employment and not compromise standards. He would love that. All intelligent and literate women should cue up to put this bozo in his place.

Anonymous_1389801797: This whole story, just like the Low Yat fracas, was created for the whole purpose of distracting the focus of the people away from the 1MDB scandal, and to create a sense of insecurity to consolidate Malay support for the regime. The ploy has worked wonders and the scandal has been forgotten.

Firestone: PPIM is a consumer association, but it is defending a nurse in a case involving Section 20(d) of the Employment Act 1967, involving constructive dismissal. Please stick to your work as an NGO and stop using religion and politics to qualify for your annual grant. PPIM should stick to protecting consumers against dirty eateries with the help of the Food Act 1985 - not the Employment Act 1967.

Hplooi: I would insist on an answer from the Ministry of Health as to the hygiene standards of public hospitals if they allow long sleeves.

Anonymous 2299391436500295: I didn't know I was supposed to get excited by women's forearms. I'll take that under advisement and look more closely now and do my best to get excited, since I'm a degenerate and evil Westerner. By the way, in Saudi Arabia, men's knees are considered revealing, let alone women's forearms.

Kodiappan Perumal: How are the male nurses going to wear bikinis?

Jonah2: It is significant that the Joint Commission International determines nurses must function with bare below elbows. But this is not rocket science. Anyone wearing flowing head scarves and long sleeves will spread infection, and possibly kill patients.

This is life and death issue caused deliberately by health personnel. Nothing to do with religion. The culprit is the Malaysian Nursing Board for letting this happen.

The Health Ministry must now let an independent international health audit body find out the level of infection and consequent mortality caused by our over-clothed, sweaty nurses on unsuspecting patients. Nurses who are found to have caused the deaths of babies and patients through their clothes, knowingly, must be charged with manslaughter.

Teoh Siang Chang: When a criminal stole something in Low Yat, it became a racial issue, and it made the criminal a hero. When a lazy woman failed to report to work on time, it became a religious issue.

Appum: Precisely why our nation is regressing instead of progressing with such kind of "leaders" leading the nation, and such NGOs.

That is why we need very badly groups like G25 to make a comeback before the nation breaks. To even suggest "bikini clad "nurses - what an Einsteinian idea. I am sure that kind of hospital will be overflowing with patients. See, I am infected with a spinning head too.

Drngsc: Arguing with fools will make you one, Norman. These people are racist and sexist, trying to make this into a religious and racial issue. So sad, when it is all about patient care and diligent duty as an employee.

Thana55: What are the Health Ministry and the Malaysian Nurses Association waiting for? Incompetency spreads across the board from Umno to all such bodies. Pathetic state of affairs.

Labis Guy: Sad to say that there are people in this country who have virtually nothing better to do except to talk about dresses of nurses and air stewardesses. Shame on you.

6th Generation Immigrant: The man who stole a handphone shouted bigotry, while the nurse who was tardy and absent, claimed persecution. There are supposedly more than 100,000 Isis supporters in Malaysia.

Half-baked organisations and NGOs carry unsubstantiated and uninvestigated arguments and fight up the ladder along racist and religious lines. Perhaps Mat Sabu is right, administration and philosophy a la Isis is indeed rearing a slow and visible head in the country.

Responsible Malaysian: Fed up to see these stupid non-issues going on and on. I really feel ashamed when facing foreigners talking negatively about our nation. I wonder when did we start becoming a nation full of stupidity.

Eventually, more than 99 percent of the rakyat are going to suffer for generations. The rich will migrate. The powerful will gain in the short term, but lose out in the long run. Remember that the majorities of the nation will suffer most. Cut it out now. Stand up against all this rubbish.

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