Kuala Lumpur: Kota Belud MP Munirah Majilis
(pic) urged the government to look into the rundown state of district hospitals in Sabah, especially her constituency.
She proposed for the government to build a new hospital in Kota Belud. She also asked for beds to be changed in light of the severe Covid-19 situation in Sabah.
“I suggest that a new hospital be built in Kota Belud.
“Change the beds in the hospitals because there are still hospitals that are using wooden beds or steel beds which are very old,” she told the Dewan Rakyat when debating on the Budget 2021 Bill.
She said when the Covid-19 pandemic hit Sabah, it was difficult to transport or shift position of the beds as they did not have wheels.
“These types of beds still exist in district hospitals in Kota Belud,” she said.
She also suggested that a molecular lab in Tawau be built to share the load of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu, while a public health lab is also established to help save costs of transporting Covid-19 samples.
“I understand that these are part of the Health Ministry’s plans, but I hope that they can be expedited as East Coast [of Sabah] is one of the hardest hit during this Covid-19 pandemic,” she added.
Munirah added that there is a lack of medical facilities used to treat patients, such as pulse oximetry machines.
“When talking about medical services, one of the feedback I received from frontliners is the lack of treatment facilities, such at the pulse oximetry machine that is used use to measure blood oxygen level.
“In Kota Belud, a lot of patients turn up at the hospitals complaining of breathing difficulties,” she said.
Munirah also highlighted the old database system used by.
“Patient database should be digitised as manual system wastes a lot of time,” she said.
She also raised concerns regarding the lack of logistic facilities in patient transportation in March, when the pandemic hit the country.
“Since March this year, logistics to ferry patients in rural areas, for example, when there is flash floods every two or three months, the frontliners have had to use their own four-wheel-drive vehicles as ambulances,” she said.
In terms of hospitals staying on par with international standards, Munirah said operation theatres in district hospitals have been established by modifying old hospital rooms.
“Due to this, when there international assessment made by the Malaysian Society For Quality In Health, the feedback often given is that the operation theatres are not up to standard as they are still using split air-conditioning units and not centralised air-conditioning,” she said.
Munirah also said the health crisis and employment opportunities should be a priority in the 2021 Budget, as a foundation of strength to address other issues.
She said Sabah’s economy depends on agriculture, mining and also tourism, all of which are severely affected by this pandemic.
“In Kota Belud for example, we have four State seats namely Usukan, Tempasuk, Kadamaian and Pintasan.
“We have the famous Mantanani Island, there are beautiful beaches, mountains, hills, all of which have high potential for the tourism industry. I even applied for infrastructure and accessibility to these tourist spots.
“We all know that among those people who lost their source of income and employment are from the tourism sector. What is the government’s plan to develop this sector?” she asked.
Citing a study by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies entitled “The Sabah Crisis”, Munirah, who is also the Warisan Wirawati Chief said job opportunities in the State are depleting.
She said the list of jobs in Sabah has plummeted to 70 per cent compared to last year, while job opportunities for low-skilled jobs in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors have fallen to more than 35,000 this year, which represents more than quarter of jobs in Sabah.
“One in three Sabahans or 33 per cent in households or representing 743,000 people in Sabah is vulnerable due to poverty factor.
“Meanwhile, there are eight districts with high poverty rates in Sabah, namely Kota Belud, Kuala Penyu, Tongod, Pitas, Kota Marudu, Beluran, Telupid and Kudat with Pitas and Tongod exceeding 70 per cent of the poverty rate.
“I request that registration for e-kasih to be updated and researched because many are living poorly but not included in the list,” she said.
Munirah also proposed reforms in the agricultural sector to open up employment opportunities, following the country’s experience with the Movement Control Order (MCO) since March, which highlighted the importance of improving food security in Malaysia.
She said investment in modern agriculture not only leads to this effort, but it can also provide employment opportunities.
“For Sabah, we should take advantage of the geographical position that is close to the Indonesian capital and also the Philippines.
“We need to optimise our facilities and advantages in terms of ports, refueling, exporting construction materials, or even the Industrialised Building System (IBS).
“Hence, the government must invest or create employment opportunities in the Malaysia context so that we can revive the economy without forgetting the rural youths whom were most affected during the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.
Munirah also called for the oil and gas industry in Usukan Bay to be explored, given the strategic position of Kota Belud.
