IT was a night for the unsung heroes as the Penang Medical Practitioners’ Society (PMPS) held a Covid-19 Medical Frontliners’ Appreciation Night in conjunction with their 88th anniversary dinner.
Over 200 members from the medical profession and guests attended the dinner held at the E&O Hotel tonight. The number would probably have been doubled had it not been scaled down due to the standard operating procedure.
Bukit Tambun assemblyman Goh Choon Aik, who represented Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow at the function, applauded the many brave men and women in their white uniforms whose toil and sweat have made our shared space a safer one for all.
“No matter how tough and challenging the pandemic situation is, the fact that we are still standing tall and surviving speaks volumes of the sacrifices made by our frontliners.
“On our part, the state government will do whatever we can to maximise the resources at our disposal for our frontliners in public hospitals to carry out their sacrosanct duties. This is our commitment to shoulder and one for our medical practitioners to be rest assured of.
“I am sure with pure dedication and competency, together we can make Penang a safer place for everyone to live in,” Goh said in his speech.
Organising chairman Datuk Dr Tan Kah Keong said while many have suffered financially, socially and mentally, only one group of special people are risking their lives and sacrificing their time to save the lives of other people, i.e. the medical frontliners.
“So, tonight, we celebrate the triumph of their difficult endeavour and share the grief of lives suffered or lost. We want to show our sincere appreciation for their sacrifices. Hence, for the first time, we organise this dinner free of charge for all the medical frontliners,” Dr Tan said.
PMPS president Dr Parmjit Singh said his committee members and himself had visited the state Health Department director and her team to discuss matters arising during the Covid-19 pandemic and also on issues faced by the doctors with the Pharmaceutical Department enforcement unit.
He had also organised a few Covid-19 training programmes for private doctors in Penang with the help of the state Health Department since the beginning of the pandemic.
PMPS, which was founded in 1932, has 570 registered members as of to date. It comprises members of both specialists and general practitioners in the private sector practising or staying in Penang.
Dr Parmjit said they would continue with the previous successful events such as CME (continuing medical education) medical talks to upgrade doctors and conduct social events, family day, sports activities, charities, etc, for their members’ benefit.
The evening was a lively one with a band in attendance. Trophies were also later presented to the winners of various sports competitions.
Story by K.H. Ong
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi