Where is the Health Minister?

Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai must quickly clarify or explain shoddy healthcare services dished out by a government clinic in Negeri Sembilan, says a former health minister.

COMMENT

By Chua Jui Meng

As a former health minister, I abhor complaints of the people being denied healthcare services in government clinics.

Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai must seriously look into the complaint of a pensioner who was denied his normal blood test check-up in a clinic in Negeri Sembilan.

The retired civil servant’s complaint was highlighted by the Centre for Policy Initiatives in its website and if valid, it is worrisome for Malaysians.

The pensioner claimed he was told by the doctor that he could not carry out the usual blood tests for him because the service had been discontinued at clinics as well as government hospitals in Negeri Sembilan.

The directive to stop blood tests in government clinics and hospitals is supposedly from the (federal) government.

Liow! Where are you? You must clarify and explain what is going on in your ministry?

Why is this happening? Is the government trying to save money because of all its plundering and emptying of the national coffer or is it an attempt to enrich the private sector healthcare providers who will then make quick bucks on blood tests?

I pray it is not because of financial constraints that this is happening.

If the government can just squander away RM250 million on “Cow Minister” Shahrizat Abdul Jalil’s family, I don’t see why there should be any problem providing sufficient basic healthcare to the people.

Liow must quickly clarify or explain such shoddy healthcare services dished out by the government clinic in Negeri Sembilan.

In any civilised or developed country, the healthcare of its citizens is top priority.

The government is duty-bound to provide basic medical treatment and healthcare services to the poor and low-income families. It is the people who drive a nation. They cannot afford to be unhealthy or medically unfit.

The long queues of patients at government clinics and hospitals, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, are telling.

It only tells us that the health ministry’s efficiency and services have declined drastically in the last decade.

Chua Jui Meng is PKR vice-president and Johor state chief. He is also a former MCA vice-president and an ex-Cabinet member.