No provision under Medical Act to allow specialists to amputate limbs

The health ministry has asked the Kelantan Government, which is bent on implementing hudud law in the state, not to involve medical specialists in the implementation of the law, such as hand amputation for those convicted of theft.

The minister, Datuk Seri Dr. S. Subramaniam reasoned that there were no provisions under the Medical Act for such amputation.

"From the medical aspect, there is no provision under the Medical Act for doctors to carry out such duties.

"The duties of a doctor are set under the Medical Act. They (doctors) should carry out their duties within the confines of the act," he told a media conference after launching the 2014 World Health Day celebration at Jasmin Flat, Senawang near here today.

He was commenting on news reports on Wednesday that Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah, who is also 1993 Syariah Criminal Code Technical Committee chairman, was planning to use the service of surgeons in amputating the hands of criminals convicted under the Syariah Criminal Code Enactment.

Earlier, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) expressed shock and protested against the proposal to use surgeons to amputate the hands of hudud law offenders as it was against the medical practice and ethics.

On the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus (MERS-CoV), Dr Subramaniam advised Muslims who wished to go on umrah or haj in Saudi Arabia to avoid visiting camel farms as the spread of the disease was believed to have started from camels in Saudi Arabia.

Nevertheless, he said that as of today, there were no new reports of MERS-CoV infection in the country, apart from that involving a 54-year-old man from Batu Pahat, Johor who died of the virus on April 13.

Meanwhile on dengue, the minister said the number of cases reported nationwide from January to April 25, this year stood at 29,776 cases, with 66 deaths.