Mysterious disease which caused death of Batek people in Gua Musang shocked the country

By Zabidi Ishar

KOTA BHARU, Dec 23– Some time in May and early June this year, the country was shocked by news of a mysterious disease which hit Kampung Kuala Koh, causing three deaths among the  Batek Orang Asli community in Gua Musang.

Later, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waytha Moorthy, confirmed that 12 Orang Asli residents in Gua Musang died from the disease and more than 100 suffered symptoms of it.

The deaths of the first victims were confirmed by a medical expert who analysed the three dead bodies at Hospital Kuala Krai and Hospital Raja Perempuan Zainab II, Kota Bharu.

As the number of victims increased, it caught the attention of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, with both calling for a thorough analysis to determine the cause of death.

Initially, the Batek people suspected the disease was caused by their source of water, a nearby river which was thought to have been contaminated by mining activities, but this was rejected by the Kelantan state government.

Tests of the water  by the relevant authorities found it to be negative of any contaminants.

The results of a postmortem conducted by the Health Ministry on the skeletal remains of the 12 Orang Asli who died finally identified the cause of death, which was a measles outbreak.

Its Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said based on the environmental sample analysis results and forensics report, heavy metal poisoning was not the cause of death of the Orang Asli in Gua Musang.

Various parties such as the National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) assisted the villagers by providing clean water and vaccine injections to control the fatal illness.

For the record, in March, the villagers were reported to have suffered chronic skin diseases believed to be caused by fungal infections but at that time, they were moving from one place to another, making it difficult for the Kelantan Health Department to reach them.

The patients were later sent to the monitoring centre at the Ethnobotany Park in Gua Musang before being allowed to return home, free of the disease.

This year also saw  interesting issues pertaining to Kelantan football, with a lot of drama for its fans, observers, sponsors and others interested in the sport.

One issue concerned the Kelantan Football Association's (KAFA) presidential hot seat after its former president Bibi Ramjani Ilias Khan resigned due to pressure.

The National Kenaf and Tobacco Board chairman Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah, chairman of Kelantan Parti Amanah Negara (AMANAH), was subsequently selected as the new KAFA president for the 2019/2023 season through an extraordinary general meeting held in July in a move to bring back glory to The Red Warriors (TRW).

The TRW team had its first major success in the 2012 season, when it won several championships during the eight years under the leadership of former president Tan Sri Annuar Musa from 2008 until 2016.

After taking over the helm of TRW, Wan Abdul Rahim appointed Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu as the association's advisor.

Under Wan Abdul Rahim, KAFA was still plagued by issues such as salary arrears, licences, and summonses from its former team players, and, under head coach Yusri Che Lah, TRW’s performance dropped even further.

The team was nearly eliminated from the M3 League but survived after finishing the season in second last place out of 11 teams.

Kelantan football was later saved by the presence of the Kelantan United Football Club (KUFC) team which qualified for the Premier League match which allowed Kelantan to have two representatives playing in the same competition next season.

Kelantan football fans have begun to show support to KUFC whether they were playing on home ground at the Sultan Muhammad lV Stadium or away.

KUFC automatically qualified for the Premier League after emerging as the M3 league champion with 66 points after 26 games.

The team has given Kelantan football fans some hope to see the state play against other teams in the next season.

--BERNAMA