KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has assured doctors in Kelantan that the state government cannot forced them to amputate the limbs of convicted thieves under the proposed hudud legislation.
Its president, Datuk Dr N.K.S. Tharmaseelan said all doctors were under the jurisdiction of the federal government, thus were not required to follow any state law.
“Everybody, especially the Kelantan government should realise that all hospitals in Kelantan are under the purview of the federal government; the Ministry of Health. They (Kelantan state government) have no say on any matter in any hospital or clinic in Kelantan. So, even if they dictate any doctor in Kelantan, it becomes invalid,” he said at a press conference, here, yesterday.
He also reminded medical practitioners that taking part in such operations was prohibited by both civil and medical laws.
“We are taught to take care, empathise, cure and love. But here, you are asking us to do harm. We don’t want to take part in such an action as it goes against medical practice.
“More importantly, doctors also know that if they do such a thing, action can be taken against them and be removed from the medical register, which is under civil law,” he said.
He noted that under the World Health Organisation guidelines, it was considered unethical for doctors to even witness the whipping of criminals.
On Wednesday, Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar, Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said PAS would consider using qualified surgeons to amputate the limbs of convicted criminals if hudud was implemented in the state.
— BERNAMA
