Higher education minister roasted online for unnecessary use of PPE

Aminah Farid Aminah Farid Updated 6 years ago · Published on 16 Apr 2020 5:22PM · 8 Comments

Higher Education Minister Noraini Ahmad today draws flak over her unnecessary use of the personal protective equipment during a visit to a lab in the Sungai Buloh Hospital. – Twitter pic, April 16, 2020.

HIGHER Education Minister Noraini Ahmad drew criticism for the second time in less than two weeks after posting pictures of herself visiting a local university’s laboratory wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), including a face mask, isolation gown, and surgical gloves. 

The minister tweeted her visit to the Covid-19 laboratory in at the UiTM Private Specialist Centre in Sungai Buloh to observe procedures for processing samples from the Health Ministry. 

The tweet, however, angered many social media users who questioned the sensibility of her visit during the movement-control order (MCO) period. 

Users protested against the minister’s unnecessary donning of the PPE, when there is an inadequate supply of such equipment for Covid-19 frontline personnel. 

“YB, why don’t you attend to your duty of improving uni students’ difficult problems instead of entertaining your curiosity about what the qualified medical staff is doing? You are supposed to resolve problems for students, not create additional work that inconveniences people?” Twitter user, Amethyst Chew, said.

Meanwhile, Rahmah Ghazali tweeted that the minister’s visit, including her VIP colleagues, was unnecessary and would only lead to wastage in PPEs, which are already in severe shortage.

Another Twitter user, Lily Zali, also expressed dissatisfaction with the minister’s social media post. 

“Why are you wasting the precious thing (PPE)? I beg you, just stay at home. This has nothing to do with your portfolio. Even if it’s UiTM, there is no need to make a physical visit. You can just do an online presentation. Please stop wasting people’s time and resources.” 

On Monday, director-general of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the current supply of PPE can last health workers combating Covid-19 for at least another two weeks. 

He said this was because the usage rate of the PPE has gone up 10 times from the usual rate. 

“We have enough ventilators. There are 956 units, and there is no need for more ventilators. 

“But not so with the PPE.  If civil society groups wish to donate, please donate to us (ministry). We are still welcoming PPE donations,” he said at the Health Ministry’s daily press conference. 

Prior to this recent controversy, Noraini created a ruckus last Thursday when she proposed a TikTok competition in order to encourage youths to stay indoors. 

The 1-minute video featured two social media influencers, appearing as Noraini’s children, dancing to a rap rendition of Ke sana ke sini, inspired by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s speech on the MCO. 

The video has since been taken down following outrage over what the public considers as Noraini misplacing her priorities when she should have focused more on the plight of students stuck on campus, and the state of their studies. – April 16, 2020.

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Comments

  • Tik tok minster trying to get another cheap publicity. Why must she visit the centre at this time when everyone in the centre is so busy fighting the virus. She's wasting so many working hours of the staffs that spend time entertaining her. This time she will be called PPE minister!

    Posted 6 years ago by Chee yee ng · Reply

  • Perikatan Nasional Dont hv any Good Calibre Minister except for Director Health Minster ABDULLAH PN Ministers wasting tax payer money in paying their expensive pensionable WAGES. Can someone pls HELP MALAYSIA FROM ALL THESE UNREASONABLE MONSTERS which call themselves Ministers or Politicians.

    Posted 6 years ago by Lucky Boy · Reply

  • Where is the Button of CHECK N BALANCE IN MALAYSIA.????

    Posted 6 years ago by Lucky Boy · Reply

  • The Dancing Queen is at it again..sigh!

    Posted 6 years ago by Elyse Gim · Reply

  • Strike 3 for this minister

    Posted 6 years ago by Julian Nagelsmann · Reply

  • Tik tok tik tok.... Clock is ticking for her

    Posted 6 years ago by H. Mokhtar · Reply

  • Knowing very well PPE for hospitals frontliners running short in 2 weeks time as announced earlier and yet some people don't get it in their thick head. Can't you do a video conferencing instead? Your bloody sibuk at the centre disrupt their operation serving the Health ministry test result cause to prep your visit those people at the centre in general wasted a day of good work wash down the drain. Try get publicity elsewhere but for a person of thick face such as yours, you could be bother right as long as you take care your constituency to vote you back by feeding them well.

    Posted 6 years ago by Teruna Kelana · Reply

  • Minister is clueless, Ministry also clueless, VCs only know how to play race and religion vs improve quality of graduates. Worse Universities have not figured out their strategies and what to do with students caught in MCO lockdown. Bottom line, we need a new legitimately elected government.

    Posted 6 years ago by Loyal Malaysian · Reply