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The three healthcare workers who stood by Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's side during his late wife's funeral have touched the hearts of many Malaysians
The trio, who come from different racial backgrounds, caught the attention of Malaysians after photos of them caring for the grieving former prime minister went viral following the funeral.
The three healthcare workers have since been identified as cardiologist Dr Iskandar Mirza Amran, physiotherapist Kevin Choo, and chief nurse Divya.
Dr Iskandar said he had worked for about 40 hours over the weekend while caring for the couple
According to the New Straits Times, Dr Iskandar, a Clinical Cardiology Fellow and Internal Medicine Specialist at the National Heart Institute (IJN), was on a 24-hour shift on Sunday, 27 September, when he attended to Dr Siti Hasmah.
"On Sunday, I was on a 24-hour shift. [On Monday] morning, we received a 'code blue', which meant an emergency involving Dr Hasmah.
"I was among those called on to perform CPR on her before her passing was confirmed," he said.
Dr Iskandar said he was then assigned to accompany Dr Mahathir throughout the funeral
He said there are usually seven people in the IJN team responsible for treating and monitoring Dr Mahathir and his late wife. However, the other doctors had another important procedure to attend to that day.
The IJN team is led by Datuk Dr Amin Ariff Nuruddin and Datuk Dr Ahmad Khairuddin Mohamed Yusof, alongside Datuk Dr Ghazali Ahmad, Dr Hafidz Abd Hadi, Dr Hisham Md Sharom, Dr Afif Ashaari, and Dr Iskandar.
Speaking about Dr Mahathir during the funeral, Dr Iskandar said the former prime minister was visibly grieving
"I saw that Dr Mahathir was grieving. He did not say much, and only wept. I checked on him to see if he was experiencing breathing difficulties or chest pains, but he told me he did not have any of those symptoms," he said.
Dr Iskandar added that he did not expect the photo of him with the other two medical personnel to touch so many Malaysians.
"Many people contacted me to thank me for taking care of Tun Mahathir. I'm pleased that our presence managed to affect the negative perception towards doctors.
"When I hear the thanks and appreciation from the people, it makes the exhaustion from working for 40 hours worthwhile," he said.
Dr Siti Hasmah, who died at IJN at the age of 100, was laid to rest at Pusara Negara in Putrajaya on Monday, 28 September.
