‘Tidak apa’ attitudes that lead to negligence

KUALA LUMPUR: The “tidak apa” attitude among Malaysians is causing professional negligence to rise, says Nadzim Johan, president of the Malaysian Muslim consumers association.

“In the past two months alone, we have received seven cases regarding professional negligence in the medical and legal sectors,” he said in an interview with FMT.

Questions about professional negligence arose recently after the deputy prime minister’s son was reported to have died after going under anaesthetics while undergoing a dental procedure at a private clinic.

Police have said the case was being investigated for possible negligence.

Nadzin pointed out that professional negligence was a serious issue that could affect a victim’s finances and health, and in some cases cause death.

“Some of the cases we handled, in both public and private hospitals, involved unnecessary surgery, overdoses of administered drugs and delay in providing treatment.”

He cited one example of a woman who went for a pap smear in a private hospital, and was told that she needed surgery to remove her ovaries. However, Nadzim said the family and victim were told only after the surgery that the operation was a preventative measure rather than a necessity.

“How could the hospital do this? They should have explained the matter in full so she could make an informed decision,” he added.

Legal complaints involved lawyers not being meticulous, leading them to misadvise their client, and even cheat on accident claims, he explained.

Nadzim said the lackadaisical “tidak apa attitude” among Malaysians had contributed to growing professional negligence, as there were victims that did not bother to seek redress.

“It’s a societal problem, even those in the various professional bodies and the authorities also have this attitude, so the problem persists. We need to change this.”

Nadzim suggested that a specific body be set up under the domestic trade ministry to monitor and enforce laws on professional negligence.

Professional bodies should also protect consumers, not just their members; they could do this through insurance to cover the actions of negligent members.

“A policy or law should be formulated, otherwise the public are at the mercy of negligent professionals. They must also actively weed out members who are negligent. It is the least they can do, since professionals charge premium rates for their service,” he said.