Health DG brushes off 'top doctor' label, praises govt, frontliners in Covid-19 fight

PUTRAJAYA: Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah has played down the “top doctor” recognition given to him for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dr Noor Hisham said praise should be directed to the country’s leaders as well as the Health Ministry’s frontliners for their role in combating Covid-19.

“I see this as a recognition for the country, not for me.

“For example, the movement control order (MCO) was the decision of the Prime Minister.

“We (the Health Ministry) gave the advice to the Prime Minister, but it is he who implemented it," he said.

He also said he was grateful for all the ministries and agencies involved in making the MCO work.

“Among the things that are important for the MCO include border control and movement control. For this, we thank the police, the Armed Forces and the Immigration Department.

“I would also like to give my appreciation to the frontliners, be it from the Health Ministry or the police who came forward to battle the disease head-on.

“It is not about me,” he said at the ministry’s daily Covid-19 press conference here on Thursday (April 16).

Dr Noor Hisham was named by China Global TV Network as among the “top doctors” in the world for his competency in handling the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a report from the network, Dr Noor Hisham has been placed among one of the three leading doctors in the fight to stop the spread of Covid-19, together with United States infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci and New Zealand director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield.