Thursday March 6, 2008
On a mission to ‘heal’ hearts
FROM attending to patients, first-timer Datuk Dr S. Vasan now finds himself moving onto ‘healing’ the hearts of his Pasir Panjang constituents.
The orthopaedic surgeon, who quit his job at Taiping Hospital recently, is pitted against Perak PAS secretary Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin in the Malay-dominated constituency, which comes under the Lumut parliamentary constituency.
Dr Vasan, who speaks English, Bahasa Malaysia, Tamil and Cantonese, is also the country’s first foot and ankle sub-specialist.
When he was informed of his candidacy, Dr Vasan had to resign immediately from the hospital.
“It is just like that, you know. Even though it was 16 years of work in the field, you just have to be willing to pack your bags and leave for the next thing life offers you,” he said.
Dr Vasan said that since he had been on MIC scholarship before, he had always felt he wanted to contribute back to the party one day.
“This is my payback time. The party gave me the chance and I am giving my service back to them,” he said.
Despite his enthusiasm, Dr Vasan said it would be an uphill task for him.
“The response from the constituents was cold at first. But they are warming up,” Dr Vasan said.
However, he remains positive and believes the “edge” he has over his opponent is his “healing touch.”
“As a doctor, I heal people. Now, I need to heal hearts.
“After all, when you come to a doctor with a problem, he never turns you away.
“He solves your problem the best way he can. I will use this principle in politics too,” said Dr Vasan.
On whether he felt the Hindraf issue would affect his chances, Dr Vasan said:
“This is just a group of disheartened people voicing their grievances. They use the term ‘ethnic cleansing’, which I think is rubbish.
“Look at me, I was given the opportunity. It is simple, if you want more from the Government, you have an avenue to voice this and that is through your elected representative.”
- More families opting to eat out for New Year reunion dinners
- 'Imprisoned' in their own homes
- Restaurants take steps to cope with festive rush
- Jalan Tanjung users want state govt to speed up process of acquiring land
- Motorists cry foul over lack of signages before worksite in Sec 16
- Friends of Kota Damansara object to housing project in Sec 10
- Council starts nursery programme for single mothers
- Local runner bags the women’s title at first night marathon
- A rock garden for Kek Lok Si
- Cops to man Malacca’s accident-prone areas
- PECH requires RM16,000 a month to maintain its three homes
- Jalan Tanjung users want state govt to speed up process of acquiring land
- Friends of Kota Damansara object to housing project in Sec 10
- Cops to man Malacca’s accident-prone areas
- A rock garden for Kek Lok Si
- Blogger chosen first time for award
- A night the media folk let their hair down
- His world through a viewfinder
- Lat and six others named ‘Andersonians of the Century’
- Families show creativity with recyclable items
Latest Jobs from Star-Jobs
Latest from StarProperty
- Architectural marvel in Damansara
- Festive Chinese New Year home decorations
- Taman Bahagia residents: It's like living in a prison
- Patience wearing thin for Jalan Tanjung users
- Alison Piotrowicz: View from the top
RSS
