Commentary by Mustafa K. Anuar 

IT seems that Kuantan MP Wan Razali Wan Nor experiences discomfort whenever he visits a general hospital for treatment. 

He complained in parliament during the Health White Paper debate that the tightness of nurses’ uniforms disturbed his peace of mind.  

He urged the government to consider changing the uniform, presumably to deflect the charms of femme fatales – the kind of seduction that could push one to seek psychiatric treatment or religious rehabilitation. 

One wonders whether those womanly curves threw Wan Razali off balance, evoking visions of seductive nurses ready to pounce on him. 

Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, might turn in her grave if she knew about this sexual objectification of nurses.   

But that is, strangely, not the kind of experience most ordinary mortals have when they seek treatment in hospitals. 

What they look for is efficient delivery of medical care in government hospitals that are normally oversubscribed. They look forward to the best possible treatment, nonetheless. 

The crowd of patients becomes bigger as the ageing population grows. Medical practitioners and facilities get overstretched. 

That is why it is discomforting to many patients to endure queues and the long wait for appointments with doctors and medical specialists. 

When we visit hospitalised family members or friends, we wonder whether the nurses are attentive enough to their needs, given that many nurses have to work long hours without much rest. 

Whether as patients or visitors, we also want the assurance that medical caregivers do not shirk their duties because of staff shortage. How they are attired never crosses our minds. 

What’s also important for visitors to know is whether there’s enough medical equipment for patients who desperately need them. We dare not imagine any insufficiency, especially if there is a wave of infectious diseases.   

These are some of the things that concern many of us and noteworthy MPs, as the quality of Malaysian healthcare should be a priority. 

The uniforms worn by nurses follow the Health Ministry’s dress code and meet the demands of their work. Looser clothing could pose a danger to both nurses and patients. 

Wan Razali has no business poking his nose – metaphorically speaking, for sure – into what nurses wear on duty. 

For what it’s worth, he should be relieved to know that most people who visit hospitals are not perverts who lust after nurses and doctors. 

It would be more comforting for us if the likes of Wan Razali trained their sights on the figures in the budgeted allocations for the ministry to improve the public healthcare system. – June 17, 2023.