Dr Noor Hisham gets emotional as he announces his deputy's retirement

"Delima selasih, duku mengkudu, Terima kasih, I love all of you."

The short verse of pantun was uttered by Health deputy director-general (Medical) Datuk Dr Rohaizat Yon to express his appreciation to media personnel who have been working tirelessly in providing up-to-date coverage on COVID-19.

He reached his mandatory retirement today after serving the Health Ministry for 35 years.

"Thank you to media personnel for the continuous coverage (on COVID-19 updates).

"The media plays important role in providing accurate and fast information as well as combating fake news (on COVID-19)," he said after the daily press conference on COVID-19 today.

Meanwhile, Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah described Dr Rohaizat as one of his "panglima perang" or war generals in the battle against COVID-19.

Paying his emotional tribute to his deputy, Dr Noor Hisham expressed his utmost appreciation to Dr Rohaizat for the latter's high level of commitment throughout his service.

"I would like to inform that today is the last day of service for Datuk Dr Rohaizat Yon," he said.

Sharing moments in the final years of his service, Dr Rohaizat said handling and dealing with the COVID-19 pandamic was the most daunting task of his career.

Tasked with affairs related to all hospitals under the ministry, Dr Rohaizat said he needed to ensure that medical equipment such as beds, ventilators and face masks in all the healthcare facilities are sufficient to treat COVID-19 cases.

He said reporting to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba on the country's latest COVID-19 situation and attending daily Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre meeting were among the tasks that were assigned to him.

"Everyday, without fail... even on Hari Raya, although there were some relaxation, we still had to come to work for data collection," he added.

-- BERNAMA