Health DG bids farewell to one of his 'war generals'

Bernama pic

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry paid tribute to its outgoing Deputy Director-General (Medical) Datuk Dr Rohaizat Yon (pic) on his last day of duty, after serving the ministry of 35 years.

Just before ending the daily Covid-19 press conference, Health Director-General Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah paid an emotional tribute to his deputy.

“Today is the last day of work for one of my “panglima perang” (war generals) who will retire. He has been with the Health Ministry’s team all these while in its battle against Covid-19.

“Many thanks to Dr Rohaizat for his high level of commitment throughout his service for the people of Malaysia, ” said Dr Noor Hisham, who came close to tears during his short appreciation speech.

Although the daily press conference is solely handled by Dr Noor Hisham, Dr Rohaizat is often on his side, together with the other senior officers.

Speaking to the press later, Dr Rohaizat said handling Covid-19 was the most challenging task throughout his career.

“We have not stopped working since the Covid-19 outbreak started in December. Even on Hari Raya, although we were allowed some relaxation, we still had to come to work, ” he said.

He said being able to keep the number of Covid-19 cases under control was a success that everyone in the country should be proud of.

“Every day, without fail, Dr Noor Hisham would remind Malaysians to practise social distancing, and maybe some people have become bored of listening to it! But the message has stuck and because Malaysians adhered to the guidelines, we are able to control Covid-19 in the country.

Dr Rohaizat also thanked the media for its continuous coverage of the ministry’s Covid-19 updates.

Born on June 11,1960, Dr Rohaizat graduated from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in 1985 and obtained his Master of Health Planning from University of New South Wales in 1991.

He was conferred his Doctorate in Public Health/Health Economics, from UKM in 2007.

In 1985, he began serving in the ministry as a medical officer in Johor and was later appointed the director of Kluang Hospital from 1988 to 1990.

He was then moved to the ministry's headquarters from 1990 and held several senior positions before he was appointed the Deputy Director-General of Health (Medical) on March 25,2019.