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MEET DR JUSTICE
The Star, Section 2, July 25, 2005
Fact File
Name: Dr Cary T.T. Ooi
Age: 66
Hometown: Taiping, Perak
Education: King Edward (KE) VII Taiping, Perak; University of Singapore; Graduate Certificate in Medical Ethics (Australian Catholic University); Diploma in Health Law (University of Western Sydney)
Occupation: Medico-legal consultant, family physician, Justice of Peace
Current base: Sydney, Australia
Years abroad: 29
A doctor from an organisation intriguingly called the Medical Defence Conspiracy? The idea conjures a figure straight out of The X-Files mixed up with L.A. Law.
Dr Cary T.T. Ooi, who is a medico-legal consultant with the Medical Defence Conspiracy (MDC) of Australia, turns out to be more fun and interesting in an e-mail interview than mysterious or over-serious.
Dr Ooi is 66 years “young” and has been in Australia for the past 29 years with his wife and two sons. He and his wife Pat recently became proud grandparents of a baby boy.
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Dr Ooi believes in justice for all. |
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Born and bred in sleepy Taiping town in Perak, Dr Ooi was the youngest in a family of five boys and seven girls. His father was in the rubber business, while his mother had her hands full raising the 12 children.
Dr Ooi studied at King Edward (KE) VII Taiping, then graduated with an MBBS from the University of Singapore in 1962. He then served as an intern (houseman) in Penang, a medical officer (MO) in Ipoh, a medical registrar/honorary anaesthetist in Taiping and a paediatrics MO at Assunta Hospital in Petaling Jaya.
Dr Ooi eventually set up a private practice in Kuala Lumpur, but it was not to be.
He sold his practice and moved to Sydney, Australia, in 1976. Explains Dr Ooi: “One of my sons has multiple disabilities due to jaundice. His specialist advised a move as there were better facilities in Australia at the time.”
It was not easy starting from scratch after having had his own practice back home. “I had some difficulty adjusting to work initially as all the patients were severely brain-damaged, and had multiple handicaps. It was a rather depressing atmosphere, but as a team (doctors, nurses, therapists, consultants) we were able to provide quality care to the less fortunate,” says Dr Ooi.
In those early days abroad, he also missed close relatives, good friends, classmates from KE, trusting patients, domestic help, and “hot, spicy, sweat-provoking nyonya food washed down with Tiger or Anchor beer”.
“Critics say Taiping is so small that you’d miss it if you cycled too fast! But herein dwells everlasting peace,” quips Dr Ooi.
The chatty and friendly doctor returns to Malaysia every year for conferences and presentations of medico-legal papers. Although he is thinking of making Malaysia his second home, Dr Ooi admits a love for Sydney.
“Sydney is one of the most beautiful harbour-cities in the world, much like a giant Penang. The weather is fabulous, the Asian food tolerable, the community friendly, although there is the occasional discrimination,” he says, explaining that migrants have been advised to mow the lawn, cut your hair and shut your mouth.
“Being a good man, I have broken only the last rule,” says the jovial doctor who has also taken advantage of the numerous golf courses in Australia and admits to being a “golf nut”.
One wonders how Dr Ooi finds the time to golf given his various work commitments.
The MDC, he says, is a medico-legal organisation formed to assist victims of medical errors to seek “truth in medicine, justice in law and monetary compensation (only if appropriate and warranted)”.
His role at the MDC entails reviewing numerous court cases of medical negligence to make sure there has been no miscarriage of justice.
His wife Pat, formerly a teacher in Taiping, is a secretary and co-director at MDC.
Besides his work with the MDC, Dr Ooi is also the Visiting Medical Officer for a hospital in Sydney, where he cares for people with severe disabilities, and the medico-legal consultant for the New South Wales’ Medical Consumers’ Association.
He is also frequently consulted on human rights, child abuse, personal injuries and patient safety cases, as well as law reforms in Australia.
If that isn’t enough, he is also the Justice of Peace in New South Wales and often acts as an expert witness for injured patients and medical defendants.
The humble and unassuming doctor is also involved with the disabled and human rights in Australia as he is a firm believer in “justice for all”.
Among his many achievements is being appointed a Medical Reviewer for The Australian Family Physician (AFP), a peer-reviewed monthly medical journal for doctors. In March 2002, his scientific paper, Post Kernicteric Syndrome (brain damage caused by jaundice), was published in AFP.
Dr Ooi, who comes from a family of writers and journalists, says: “I have written numerous medical columns for Australian publications such as Australian Doctor and Medical Observer. While countless stories have appeared in the media about child abuse by parents, it appears that I may be the first and only doctor internationally to report on child neglect by health professionals. For my work, I was honoured with the Australasian Child Abuse Prevention Award in 1999. I also contributed to two popular textbooks: Bioethics: A Nursing Perspective, and Nursing and the Injustices of the Law.”
Although he has achieved a lot and gained the respect of his peers in Australia and internationally, Dr Ooi’s heart is still very much in Malaysia. He misses satay, durian, mee goreng, shark’s fin soup and bird’s nest soup.
Sounds like his taste buds are longing for Malaysia – a country he may have left but still loves.
“I am proud of Malaysia because of the peace, prosperity, stability, good food, inter-racial harmony, and the kindness and generosity of the people,” he says.
For Malaysians venturing to live and work in Australia, Dr Ooi has this advice: “Be prepared to be a car-washer, lawn-mower, vacuum-cleaner, washing-machine, clothes-drier, dish-washer. Imagine, being all these at the same time!
“Finally, look after yourself and your family; and mind your own business. Learn from my cardinal sin – shut up!”
Copyright Star Publications (M) Bhd
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