Sarawak to require defibrillators in public areas

 

An automated external defibrillator donated by the St John Ambulance installed at a mosque in Kota Bharu in July. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

Sarawak is drawing up new laws to require automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to be installed at public facilities, says Sarawak deputy premier Dr Sim Kui Hian.

Sim, who is state minister for public health, housing and local government, said the devices would be required in such areas as shopping malls, hotels, government offices, as well as sports and recreational facilities like futsal and badminton courts.

He said the new rules and regulations will be tabled at the state assembly next year.

“For large buildings, it may be mandatory that the defibrillators are installed on every floor. For small buildings, one device would suffice,” he said, Utusan Borneo reported.

Sim said Sarawak will also seek to improve people’s awareness of how to use the defibrillators, which deliver electric shocks to restore the heart rhythm of victims of cardiac arrest.

In March 2022, then health minister Khairy Jamaluddin said it would be mandatory for AEDs to be installed at public facilities by 2025.

However, earlier this month, the health minister said in a parliamentary reply to Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin that the installation of the defibrillators in public areas was on a voluntary basis. Most government offices already have the devices installed. - FMT