KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has initiated investigations, specifically towards the doctors and healthcare facilities mentioned by an Al-Jazeera documentary as being linked in baby-for-sale rackets in Malaysia.
“Depending on the results of the investigations, action will be taken accordingly towards the doctors and healthcare facilities,” said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S.Subramaniam.
He said this may include disciplinary action by the Malaysian Medical Council, which may lead to deregistration of the doctor from the Medical Register under the Medical Act 1971, and revoking the certificate/licence of the centres.
He also called upon members of the public to help curb this activity by being more alert and willing to come forward with information for further action by relevant agencies.
“Thus, the participation of the community should come hand-in-hand with the Ministry's effort to safeguard patients’ safety and the quality of our healthcare system, and put a stop to this activity,” Dr Subramaniam said in a statement.
Al-Jazeera, in its report earlier this week, had claimed that Malaysia has become a hub for baby-selling syndicates.
In the documentary titled “Malaysia: Babies for Sale”, based on a four-month undercover operation by its journalist, the news channel claimed that a network of traffickers, doctors and government officials, especially from the National Registration Department, were profiting from the sale of babies.
According to a press release by Al-Jazeera, the reporter who went undercover found that the price of the babies was determined by race, skin colour, gender and weight, with corrupt doctors and NRD officials working in cahoots with the traffickers by falsifying birth documents.