The Sungai Buloh Settlement Council organised a silent protest this morning at the Valley of Hope over a plan to use its local community hall as a Covid-19 quarantine centre.
This is over what it claimed is the Sungai Buloh Hospital's failure to take appropriate security and precautionary measures before converting the settlement's local hall into a quarantine centre.
According to the council which comprises former leprosy patients living in the area, the Sungai Buloh Hospital had set up 110 beds in the hall yesterday and planned to move in 106 Covid-19 patients today.
However, it claimed the hospital did not fulfil its agreement with the council made on Oct 27.
The agreement was for authorities to roll out barbed wire fencing and partitions to separate the red and green zones.
Furthermore, the council had also requested for the setting up of basic daily-need facilities and a decontamination area for medical staff.
Several council members gathered in front of the hall at 9am with placards reading “Promise not kept”, “Tiada pagar jangan masuk” (no fence, no entry) and “Protect us”.
The council members are a group of former leprosy patients under the National Leprosy Centre, who are aged 65 years old and above.
The National Leprosy Centre was built in 1930 and was in use until 1995. It was originally designed as a settlement to separate leprosy patients from the population.
It later became known as the Valley of Hope. Activists have been campaigning for the buildings to be preserved and recognised as a national heritage.
According to council president Tan Hing (below), there are about 120 residents staying at the settlement and they worried about their safety because the hospital did not adhere to their previous agreement.
“The virus is dangerous. If the quarantine centre does not have any fencing, what will happen if the patients run away?
“And there are no facilities set up yet, the hall is not ready for patients to stay in,” he added. - Mkini
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