I must agree with Doctor-to-be, who wrote the letter entitled [#1]Dr Mahathir, remember your oath?[/#] (April 24), that Anwar Ibrahim's health has been blown out of proportion by certain quarters to gain political mileage. Needless to say, the whole world would have come to know that a certain Anwar Ibrahim residing in a prison in Malaysia is suffering from a slipped disc which, if not treated, would result in serious complications later on.

I gather from his letter that Doctor-to-be must be studying in one of the UK-based universities and therefore not very well versed with the reality of medical practice in Malaysia.

I, too, studied abroad and came back home with all my ideals and reservations about medical practice in Malaysia. No doubt the medical establishment in Malaysia is not as old or as prestigious as in the west but the healthcare in Malaysia ranks among the top in the world in terms of the availability of services to the people.

I am proud to have been given the opportunity to serve as a medical officer in one of the district hospitals of Sabah. In the course of my service I have come to know a lot of good and dedicated doctors in Malaysia who are equally adept in their own field, if not better than some of the so-called foreign doctors.

Therefore, I am quite surprised as to why Anwar chose a foreign doctor instead. Granted, he has the liberty to choose whomever he wants. I can say for sure that our doctors are equally capable of treating him and are ever ready to start operating straightaway if need be as we are very much aware of the Hippocratic oath.

Instead, we have this brilliant Dr Thomas Hoogland (whose medical ethics must be seriously questioned) to make a mockery of our doctors and healthcare facilities. Inexplicably, he chose to do the operation in Germany instead, in spite of the hospitality and goodwill of the Health Ministry in going out of its way to accommodate him. His excuse of not being able to transport his equipment over here does not hold water. After all, Anwar as a client is paying him thousands of dollars for his services. What is the cost of complying with the wishes of his patient, if Dr Hoogland remembers his Hippocratic oath?

If I were in Anwar's shoes, I would have terminated the services of Dr Hoogland a long time ago as his reluctance to operate here can result in more harm to Anwar in the long run. Any sensible person would rush to be operated on if he or she knew the consequences to be as dire as have been reported.

It has become obvious that Anwar's spinal problem has been brandished about as a form of political blackmail against the government. Why kill the golden goose that laid the golden egg when you can benefit from it in the long run even at the cost of your health?