Doctors balk at 'surgeon-assisted' hudud plan - Malaysiakini

 

 The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has expressed “shock” over a report that the Kelantan government will order surgeons to conduct amputations of limbs if it succeeds in implementing hudud.

Its president, Dr NKS Tharmaseelan (right), said amputating the limb of any convicted criminal under goes "against medical ethics and practice".

Tharmaseelan said doctors have also been advised by the World Health Organisation not to witness or certify caning or the whipping of criminals, and amputations are “far more serious”.

"I implore upon the Kelantan government to rethink getting surgeons to do the ‘menial’ task of implementing a law that goes against medical ethics and practice.

"Personally, I am totally against any law that requires disfigurement...

"Asking a surgeon to perform amputation is far more serious and definitely is opposed by the MMA," he told Malaysiakini.

'Doctors trained to treat and cure'

Tharmaseelan said that doctors are trained to care, treat and cure, and must obtain consent from patients, even if they are criminals. Failure to do so will be a breach of ethics.

As such, he said, MMA will lodge a report against any doctor who participates in hudud amputation by lodging a report against him or her with the Malaysian Medical Council for breach of ethics.

“This may lead to him or her being expelled from the medical register as a doctor. The MMA will also take action against the doctor, and expel him or her from the association,” Tharmaseelan said.

Bernama yesterday quoted Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah as saying that the state plans to engage the services of surgeons to amputate criminals convicted under hudud, if it is implemented in the state next year.

“Once the punishment is meted out, the convict can return home without having to go through other punishments, such as imprisonment and so on,” Mohd Amar reportedly said.

Will Kelantan penalise doctors who refuse?

Meanwhile, Perak MCA chairperson Dr Mah Hang Soon also expressed outrage the Kelantan place, which he said would be an act against the Hippocratic Oath taken by doctors.

A medical doctor, Mah (left) said that under the oath, doctors cannot do anything to willfully jeopardise a person’s health or render an able-bodied person disabled.

He also said that if no qualified doctor was willing to do the job due to risk of being taken off the medical registry, the state of Kelantan could end up engaging “quack doctors” or “imposters”.

Mah also sought clarification if doctors, anaesthetists, nurses and medical aides will be penalised by the Kelantan government for refusing to be involved in hudud amputations.

“Will there be enforcement officers standing inside the operating theatre, thereby increasing the risk of infection or possibility of any errors given the insurmountable pressure heaped on the medical team?

“Should not the operating theatre be prioritised for patients requiring surgeries rather than be wholly occupied to punish people deemed criminals for petty thefts under hudud law?” he asked.

The PAS-led Kelantan government, via PAS parliamentarians, plans to table a private member's Bill in the Dewan Rakyat as early as June to pave the way to implement hudud in Kelantan.

There are opposing views on the matter, but some legal experts argue that a constitutional amendment is required to allow the implementation of hudud at state level.

This is because hudud penalties are beyond what a state is allowed to mete out for criminal offences according to the federal constitution.