No Business No Money And No Place In Govt Hospital

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Thinesh at the Selayang Hospital two weeks ago.PETALING JAYA: Thinesh Kumar Chigasamy was a budding entrepreneur until misfortune struck in the form of Covid-19.
He and three friends opened a restaurant at the end of 2019 after some success with a small business he had started with his wife supplying food to canteens and cafeterias.
The four friends had big plans for 2020. But the restaurant in Jalan Puchong became short-lived when the movement control orders (MCOs) hit from March last year.
Thinesh once again turned to his wife’s culinary talents. She started cooking nasi lemak, curry puffs and other Malay dishes and Thinesh would deliver these to a cafeteria at Kajang Hospital.
Then more bad luck struck. The 40-year old Thinesh, a diabetic on insulin treatment, became severely ill in the middle of last year after suffering abdominal problems for a few years and getting treatment at Selayang Hospital’s outpatient clinic.
Last October, doctors found a growth in his pancreas and scheduled surgery for June 11.
But the operation did not take place. The hospital told Thinesh that it was “too occupied” with Covid-19 cases and urged him to get the surgery done at the private wing of the same hospital. It would cost him about RM30,000. Meanwhile, he was told to leave the hospital.
His wife, Devasundari, who worked as an art teacher, also lost her job last October, and with that, the RM1,200 she was earning. The family had been depending solely on the food supply business, which brings in about RM800 a month, a far cry from the RM4,000 monthly income before the MCO.
“I can’t stand watching my husband suffer. He is in a lot of pain and his whole right leg is numb.
“I cannot afford the RM30,000 surgery, I have told the people at the hospital, but they said only private wards were available,” she said.
Pertubuhan Masyarakat Mesra Malaysia chief J Karen Kasthuri, upon hearing of their plight started raising funds for the couple on Facebook with all donations going to Devasundari’s bank account. The target is RM35,000 and a little more than RM17,000 has so far been raised.
FMT has contacted the Selangor health director for comment since the Selayang Hospital director’s post is vacant. - FMT

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