This follows a viral video on social media in which the patient’s guardian questioned why a government clinic had issued the monitoring card in Chinese.

The department apologised for the confusion, adding that an investigation found the incident occurred yesterday and involved a child suspected of having dengue fever.

It said while Bahasa Melayu remains the official language for all government healthcare services, the clinic prepares monitoring cards in various languages to aid communication in high-density areas.

“In this case, a card in a different language was mistakenly handed over to the patient’s guardian,” it said in a statement.

The department noted that the medical officer on duty had provided the necessary verbal explanations and written clinical notes on the card in Bahasa Melayu.

It said immediate corrective measures have been taken to ensure such monitoring cards are distributed appropriately in the future.