In the peace-loving, moderate and progressive country of Muslim-dominated Malaysia, violence generally is alien to the culture. Terrorism initially took shape during the post-independence, communist era by jungle recalcitrant actions. In recent years, this has been superceded by a more internationally related trend of violence. Only very few incidents were based locally, while the majority were linked to international groups or organizations abroad, including the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Kidnapping with ransom seemed to have been the most commone modus operandi, while killing and robbery accounted for very few of these incidents. The number of victims in each event so far has been small, and smaller for those physically harmed or killed. This pattern of terrorist attacks suggests that the current level of provision of emergency medical services is sufficient to handle such incidents. Recent advances in local emergency medicine also have witnessed the establishment of various teaching and training modules, a pivotal role played by university hospitals and supported by the Ministry of Health. However, the spate of ongoing events of mass destruction such as the conflict in Israel/Palestine, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the World Trade Center and Pentagon tragedies of 11 September 2001, and the Bali bombing in Indonesia, remain as great concerns to Malaysians. Both the government and the people of Malaysia abhor such unjustified uses of terror, and take every measure to curtail them. The National Security Council policies of Arahan No. 18 and Arahan No. 20 detail specific roles and responsibilities of various agencies in managing terrorism and disasters respectively, while the use of the stern Internal Security Act that allows indefinite detention without trial, evidently has been an efficient intelligence and security apparatus. With more recent developments of terrorist events regionally and globally, Malaysia continues to face an ongoing threat from such activities. Various measures have been and will be actively undertaken both by government and non-governmental agencies in facing these challenges.
We studied the emergency preparedness and perceived response for Ebola virus disease among various health care providers in Malaysia using a self-report questionnaire. Most of the health care providers felt that they were able to respond to Ebola virus disease and were aware of the level of preparedness needed during emergency.
Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), named a pandemic by the WHO, is the current global health crisis. National and international collaboration are indispensable for combating COVID-19 and other similar potential outbreaks. International efforts to tackle this complex problem have led to remarkable scientific advances. Yet, as a global society, we can and must take additional measures to fight this pandemic. Undoubtedly, our approach toward COVID-19 was not perfect, and testing has not been deployed fast enough to arrest the epidemic early on. It is critical that we revise our approaches to be more prepared for pandemics as a united body by promoting global cooperation and commitment.