Pantai Hospital in Kedah has apologised on Facebook after coming under fire for putting up a nursing scholarship advertisement that expressed a preference for Chinese, Siamese, Christian and Indian applicants. — Reuters pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 19 — Pantai Hospital in Kedah has apologised after coming under fire for putting up a nursing scholarship advertisement that expressed a preference for Chinese, Siamese, Christian and Indian applicants.

The hospital located in Sungai Petani came under intense scrutiny by social media users, some of whom called for a boycott of its services.

The hospital later took to its Facebook page to issue an apology, adding that the banner was put up by one of its staff without prior approval and that it has since corrected the oversight.

“We are deeply sorry for the unacceptable content on our scholarship banner. The banner was put up by staff without approval and does not reflect the values of our organisation. We corrected the information immediately after realising the mistake.

“We take full responsibility for this mistake and give our assurance that it will not occur again. At Pantai Hospitals, we embrace a fair employment policy and we do not condone any practices that are prejudicial against any race or religion,” the statement read.

The hospital, however, was still not spared by social media users, with some claiming to be insurance agents who promised to not recommend the hospital to their clients.

Some also berated the hospital for pinning the blame on its staff, raising doubt as to how such an ad bypassed its higher-ups.

“How can the hospital put the blame on a low-level staff that made the mistake in the banner? It’s impossible, grunts only follow orders from managerial level. Your reasons and apology is dubious,” Facebook user Amir Zahid wrote.

“Don’t put blame on others. If dignity is still valid on your side, fire those high ranked marketing director / etc who approved this bunting. Until then, any hospitals start with PANTAI will be avoided,” another user, Afiq Hanif wrote.