KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has demanded a public apology from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over its recent public awareness video on bribery posted on Twitter yesterday.
The 30-second video portrayed a patient bribing a doctor for fake medical certificates (MC), followed by the doctor's prompt response asking for the number of MC-leave days he wanted after receiving the kickback.
The video, which ends with one of MACC's campaign tagline 'Semarakkan Integriti, Perangi Rasuah' (promote integrity, fight corruption) has caused an uproar from local Twitter users.
Netizens urged the MACC to base their awareness videos on more pressing cases involving real-case bribery.
MMA president Dr Koh Kar Chai said the video was done in poor taste and is an insult to the medical profession image and its sanctity.
Agreeing with netizens, he said the graft busters should have used other examples to convey their message to the people.
"As doctors, we feel deeply offended by the post which should be taken down immediately.
"Have they forgotten our sacrifices for the country in battling our fiercest enemy which is the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) virus which has claimed 31,591 lives?
"Very recently, many of our doctors were also up to their waist in floodwaters, sending aid to flood victims while their clinics were destroyed by the floods, and these are just some of the examples of our undying passion and commitment to providing care to the people," he said in a statement today.
In pressing for an apology, Dr Koh said MACC should also 'clean up its own backyard'.
"From the long thread of comments by netizens in response to the video, it appears MACC has issues in its own reputation to address," he said.