FOR Dr Faiz Baharudin, serving the country matters most to him, be it in sports or as a medical practitioner.
The 32-year-old is well known among the basketball community as an up-and-coming coach having served as the men’s national team doctor during the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games.
He is also the medical and sports science adviser to the Malaysia Basketball Association (Maba).
The Melaka-born heads his own team — the Malaya Titans in the National Community Basketball League (NCBL) and is also the Armed Forces head coach.
For the record, Dr Faiz is one of two basketball coaches in the country with a Level Three coaching certificate and a Level Three sports science certificate.
But for now, Dr Faiz is shelving the hoops as he is serving on the frontlines to fight Covid-19.
A graduate of Universiti Malaya, Dr Faiz is now attached with the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre in Petaling Jaya where he is part of the Covid-19 taskforce.
Dr Faiz, who specialises in public health, leads the occupational safety, health and environment (OSHE) team, whose main duty is to conduct contact tracing on fellow medical practitioners.
“It is a big role because UMMC is one of the main hospitals in battling Covid-19, and sometimes even doctors and nurses can become infected as well,” said Dr Faiz.
“We have a team dedicated to screening the public while my team, on the other hand, is tasked to take care of fellow healthcare workers.
“It is a huge responsibility because our healthcare colleagues all face the risk of exposure to the virus daily.”
Dr Faiz, however, believes it takes more than just one individual to make a difference in the battle against Covid-19.
“As a doctor, it is our job to step up and do our part in helping improve this current situation.
“But while many have been praising doctors and nurses for being on the frontlines, I believe the real frontliners are the general population.
“If the public adhere to the Movement Control Order and stay home, it will certainly make our job easier.
“At the end of the day, it is all about team effort, just like how basketball is a team game, if we hope to beat the virus,” added Dr Faiz.