Teary-Eyed Dr Noor Hisham Bids Farewell To Fellow 'War General' In Battle Against COVID-19
The Health D-G got choked up while announcing that it was the last day of work for Dr Rohaizat.
By May Vin Ang — 11 Jun 2020, 12:46 PM
Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham became emotional yesterday, 10 June, while bidding farewell to a close comrade of his in the Ministry of Health's (MOH) battle against the COVID-19 pandemic
As the last agenda in the daily COVID-19 press conference, Dr Noor Hisham announced the mandatory retirement of Health deputy director-general (Medical) Datuk Dr Rohaizat Yon after 35 years of service to the country.
"With a heavy heart, I would like to inform that today is the last day of work for one of my panglima perang (war generals), Datuk Dr Rohaizat Yon," announced Dr Noor Hisham.
He then became choked up while saying that Dr Rohaizat has been with the MOH team all this while in its battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We give you the utmost appreciation and thanks for the strong commitment you have shown throughout your service to the people of Malaysia," Dr Noor Hisham concluded.
Dr Rohaizat (second from left) can always be seen standing alongside Dr Noor Hisham during the COVID-19 press conferences.
Image via Noor Hisham Abdullah/FacebookAlthough Dr Noor Hisham is at the forefront of all the COVID-19 press conferences, Dr Rohaizat can always be seen at his side, along with the other senior officers
According to The Star, Dr Rohaizat graduated from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and began serving as a medical officer in 1985.
Rising through the ranks quickly, he was first appointed the director of Kluang Hospital in 1988, before moving to the MOH's headquarters in 1990.
With a Masters of Health Planning from the University of New South Wales and a Doctorate in Public Health and Health Economics from UKM, he held several senior positions in the ministry throughout the years.
He was finally appointed the Health deputy director-general (Medical) in 2019.
Dr Rohaizat (middle) with Dr Noor Hisham and the other MOH senior officers.
Image via Noor Hisham Abdullah/FacebookSpeaking to the press after the conference yesterday, Dr Rohaizat said handling COVID-19 was the most daunting task he had to face throughout his career
Having been assigned with affairs related to all hospitals under the ministry, he said he needed to ensure that medical equipment such as beds, ventilators, and face masks in all healthcare facilities were sufficient to treat the coronavirus cases that began to appear in Malaysia late February.
Dr Rohaizat has also been attending the daily Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre meetings and keeping Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba up to date on the country's latest COVID-19 situation.
"Every day, without fail... even on Hari Raya, although there was some relaxation, we still had to come to work for data collection," he said, as quoted by Bernama.
However, he said being able to keep the number of COVID-19 cases in the country under control was a success that everyone in Malaysia should be proud of.
Malaysia recorded the lowest number of new COVID-19 cases yesterday, 10 June, with only two positive patients, both of whom were not infected within the community, bringing the country's tally to 8,338.
