Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii has called for better access to healthcare facilities for all Malaysians, especially those living in rural areas.
‘Rural areas need better healthcare access’
Yii, who is also Sarawak DAP publicity secretary, said that he was disheartened to see Malaysians living in rural areas being deprived of quality healthcare in the modern era.
This is a clear symptom of under-investment and neglect in our healthcare services, especially in rural areas.
“To properly address this issue, we need to identify the factors such as poverty, providing basic amenities, and equitable development,” he wrote in a statement.
However, he admitted that the aforementioned factors do not come under the purview of the Ministry of Health (MOH).
Political will needed
Yii also added that a comprehensive “federal-state inter-ministry and inter-agency framework” is needed to be formed in order to ensure that those living in rural areas have access to healthcare.
He also urged the newly minted health minister Dr. Zaliha Mustafa and her deputy to take active steps in allocating resources needed to better equip healthcare facilities in rural areas.
“All this requires political will and, more importantly, for ministries not to work in silos anymore,” he said.
Read his statement here:
Recently, a mother in Sarawak lost her 9-month-old baby while on a 6-hour bus journey from Julau to Kuching:
