Stop blaming others for dengue, says Chua

NST: PASIR PUTIH: People who complain about the dengue menace but do little to help eradicate it have been taken to task by Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek.
He said the response to most campaigns and gotong-royong had been poor.
"During such campaigns, most of the participants are the staff of the health department or local authorities with volunteers from among Barisan Nasional members," he said after a visit to the Pasir Putih Hospital.
"The villagers directly affected rarely take part. They stay inside or just look at those doing the work without feeling the slightest guilt."
Chua said this reflected a lack of awareness and sense of responsibility in the community.
"These selfish people like to blame others whenever there are dengue cases in their areas yet give so many excuses when the health officers find Aedes mosquitoes breeding in their compounds.
"They blame the authorities for failing to collect rubbish on time and for stagnant drains."
He believed such attitude had contributed to the rising number of dengue cases since early this year.
In Kuala Lumpur, Health Ministry’s disease control director Datuk Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman said as at July 28, 65 people had succumbed to dengue compared with 49 during the same period last year.
He said the four states with the highest number of dengue cases were Selangor, Kelantan, Johor and here.