Monday, April 13, 2015

the worst


that's the superlative my colleague proclaimed a few days ago.

he was berating the way the nurses ill-prepared for his surgical case. i had to agree with him. it was messy & it slowed down the whole OT list.

i do miss those days when the nurses were more dedicated, competent, conscientious & thorough in their work.

when things run like clockwork with minimal self-inflicted disruptions.

when there was just one or two private nursing schools.

just in case you didn't notice, private healthcare isn't what it used to be. ringgit & sen, now more than ever, precedes service.

i am sure you have your own horror stories or even personal experiences to tell.

Sunday, April 12, 2015

camping out


finally, the boy is roughing it out......


tent - checked

sleeping bag - checked

bottles of drinking water - checked

note book - checked.

it's his scouts' camping trip. was it held out in the forest or forest reserve? outdoor camping site? on a field?

actually, none of the above.

it was held in the school compound. still, that hasn't dampened his enthusiasm for the outdoors, for roughing it out away from the comforts of home & for bonding with the fellow scouts.

however, he did call for help...to replenish drinking water for the 3-day camp out.

Tuesday, April 07, 2015

GST.....the final word.


seriously, none of us thinks the govt has thoroughly thought & worked out the breathe and depth of the GST.

how is it they were flip-flopping over the GST for pre-paid top-up cards?

is healthcare exempted or not? if not, why announce otherwise?

why the need now to consider to increase the number of medicines to be exempt or zero-rated?

be assured the saga will not end with this recent confusion.

how is it that they didn't learn from countries that implemented GST ages ago & avoided their mistakes?

i know for sure GST, as a consumption tax, is a fairer form of tax collection, but perhaps the timing is premature, or that it should have started at a lower level, say 2-3% first.

& there should be no exemption nor exception. tax everything but at an affordable & less painful bracket first.

while the government is whipping up confusion at every turn of the implementation process, the rakyat is suffering.

aren't you?

sigh!

Thursday, April 02, 2015

GST 2.0


i stared at this for some time.....


while many are fortunate to be able to seek attention at medical centres & specialists' hospitals, this booklet is stark reminder that, while we often take things for granted, like clean running water & electricity, there are those on the other side of the social divide who are not so privileged, having to make do with river water & kerosene lamps.

& then there are those whose healthcare needs can only be met in government-run facilities.

i had a middle-aged lady recently who was admitted to the ICU for a critical illness. after a week of intensive treatment, we managed to get her thru the most difficult period but by then, her family's fund was running low & they requested for her to be transferred to the ICU of the local public hospital.

believe you me, it's extremely difficult to get such a vacant ICU bed but by a twist of events, we managed to get a vacant bed the next day. she was promptly transferred but unfortunately, she passed on after 2 days.

it's impossible to say if she'd have a better chance at survival had she remained at our hospital but it did leave a hollow feeling in me.

with the expected RM22b to be collected this year from the recently imposed GST, hopefully we'll get .......

.......a better public transport system instead of a luxuriously-furbished jet plane for the private use of the elite few

.......basic necessities for the rural folk instead of a monthly million ringgit electricity bill for just one dwelling....

......and well-trained medical staff in well-equipped public hospitals instead of mushrooming private medical schools recruiting mediocre students.

Wednesday, April 01, 2015

GST


goods & services tax.

or, government say thanks.

or, a mean april fool's joke.

but i say...

"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's" matt 22:21

the govt is determined to get its pound of flesh. you can't change that now, even collectively, but you can determine who rules at the ballot box.