KUALA LUMPUR – The federal health department has apologised after a Klinik Kesihatan in Setapak inadvertently issued a Chinese-language dengue monitoring card to a patient.
The Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya Federal Territories Health Department clarified on Tuesday that the incident was an isolated and unintentional administrative oversight.
An investigation revealed that the incident, which sparked widespread attention via a viral TikTok video, involved a pediatric patient undergoing assessments for suspected dengue fever.
According to health officials, official patient monitoring cards utilized across all healthcare clinic facilities are strictly maintained in the national language, Bahasa Melayu.
However, the department explained that clinics operating in high-density areas frequently prepare supplementary multilingual brochures to support communication with diverse communities.
“To assist with patient monitoring and communication in high-density areas with high dengue cases, the clinic prepared multilingual monitoring cards as a supportive initiative for patients and guardians,” the department said in a statement.
Officials emphasized that despite the administrative error involving the card, the attending medical officer conducted the entire clinical consultation and treatment brief in Bahasa Melayu.
Immediate corrective measures have since been implemented by Putrajaya to ensure more rigorous oversight and prevent similar administrative errors from recurring.
The incident underscores the delicate balance required by civil services to maintain constitutional language protocols while ensuring effective communication for the welfare of the rakyat. -MalayaDailyToday
