Fueled by My Hatred for Stupidity

Interesting answer from Dr Fadzil (pediatrician) when I asked him in class earlier regarding child abuse:

"What is your opinion of parents who decline initial medical treatment for their children with critical illnesses?"

Excerpts of his answer:

"You really cannot blame the parents, as they were brought up by the system. [...] The Malays are not interested in logic, in Sunnatullah (the way of nature); they are interested in mysteries and (fantasies). [...] Have you seen the shows/movies on TV? They are all of what interests Malays: mysteries. None of it has any scientific value, except maybe Cicakman, which has a small bit of scientific values.

[...]

In the UK, you may get a court order to have the child taken away from the parents due to neglect, ie not fit to be their parent. You cannot do that in Malaysia; our parents are not educated enough. Those of you who believe in logic are the outliers in this country; those who believe in mysteries are the norms. That's why they always go and seek traditional medicine first, and come to you late.

[...]

Actually our traditional medicine has potential, but we don't research it. And the bigger problem is that traditional medicine has lost its value. Take a look at "minyak gamat" (sea cucumber oil). Traditional medicine sellers market it as something that can treat anything: headache, stomach ache, appendicitis, everything. They lose all credibility with doing that. And Malays are lazy to perform research."

I've always felt that when your child has potentially curable cancer, declining treatment for unproven traditional medicine constitutes neglect.