PUTRAJAYA, Feb 20 — The Health Ministry today said that it regretted the incident where a private hospital in Kedah placed a racist scholarship advertisement for a nursing diploma programme.
However, Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad said that he considered the matter solved after the Pantai Hospital in Sungai Petani tendered an open apology.
“I have said yesterday, that it is very unfortunate that this has happened this way.
“They have already apologised openly. They are a private entity and it has really injured their image, and certainly badly dented their credibility. So I think they must have regretted this. They are very remorseful and they have openly apologised
“Therefore, as far as we are concerned, that is the end of it and hopefully it shall not repeat,” Dzulkefly said in a press conference today.
The hospital yesterday apologised after coming under fire for putting up a nursing scholarship advertisement that expressed a preference for Chinese, Siamese, Christian and Indian applicants.
The hospital came under intense scrutiny by social media users, some of whom called for a boycott of its services.
The hospital later took to its Facebook page to issue an apology, adding that the banner was put up by one of its staff without prior approval and that it has since corrected the oversight.
“We are deeply sorry for the unacceptable content on our scholarship banner. The banner was put up by staff without approval and does not reflect the values of our organisation. We corrected the information immediately after realising the mistake.
“We take full responsibility for this mistake and give our assurance that it will not occur again. At Pantai Hospitals, we embrace a fair employment policy and we do not condone any practices that are prejudicial against any race or religion,” the statement read.
