KUALA LUMPUR: Mention Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and most Malaysians can immediately picture the man, dubbed a hero by many, amidst the pandemic we are battling right now.
While we may think of him as the Health director-general, who may not engage in medicinal practise as much as he would want to due to time constraints, he recently performed surgery on a patient before going on-air for his daily press briefing.
In a Facebook post earlier today, Dr Noor Hisham wrote he had performed a thyroidectomy surgery which involves the surgical removal of all or part of the thyroid gland.
"This morning I managed to squeeze in some time to perform a thyroidectomy for a patient diagnosed with right dominant multinodular goitre.
"Indeed it was refreshing to be in the operating room again to calm my 'withdrawal symptoms' and meet all my Operation Theatre (OT) staff. I was also briefed on the workflow and standard operating procedures (SOP) for Covid-19 positive patients that have to undergo surgery," he posted.
Dr Noor Hisham also said amidst the current pandemic situation, Malaysians has become united and he praised the frontliners for demonstrating good values to the people.
"Each day brings new lessons and challenges for us to prepare for the worse, and I am amazed by the ingenuity, strength and creativity being demonstrated by our frontline workers.
"As the pandemic crisis unfolds, it has taught us many valuable lessons of unity and solidarity.
"The onus is on us to take all precautionary measures and maintain good personal hygiene," he reminded.
Although the country is in the recovery phase, he admits that it would be a challenge for the people to comply with the SOPs.
"We are able to connect with each other better and continue to work to explore new ideas and innovations.
"We are in our recovery phase; however, the real challenge starts now for the rakyat to comply with the SOPs. The rakyat can make the impossible possible as there is now hope and light at the end of the tunnel to end the Covid-19 transmission," he said.
He also posted a few photos of him and the OT staff in the operation room.