Thoughts penned by
G. Manickam Govindaraju (MIPR, APR)
Lecturer, School of Media and Communication
Taylor’s University.
SIXTY FOUR YEARS had passed since Malaya gained its independence from the British colony with Malaysia celebrating its Independence Day on 31st August, two weeks ago. Now, we are celebrating “Malaysia Day,” birth of the tapestry of colourful cultures and ethnicity woven into one beautiful fabric called Malaysia that consists of the Peninsular, Sabah, and Sarawak. Malaysia’s population consists of Malays, Chinese, Indians, approximately of 42 ethnic groups in Sabah, and 26 ethnic groups in Sarawak, and others.
The formation of Malaysia was never an easy task for Tunku Abdul Rahman, who mooted the idea in 1961 and faced confrontation as well as hostile moves from Philippines and Indonesia. Malaysia’s formation took place nevertheless and we overcame the disputes through diplomacy, negotiations, and most importantly tolerance, qualities of good neighbours. Finally, after several talks and agreements, Malaysia was formed on 16th September 1963.
Our core values such as tolerance, respect, humility, and politeness have enabled us to live as a peaceful community in this world. There’s no denial that we do have our fair share of differences and challenges, but we have always been able to find ways to overcome those in an amicable manner because we know that we are one big family, called Malaysians.
As we celebrate Malaysia’s birth today, there is an urge to evaluate the progress of basic needs accessibility to all Malaysians. Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs model is usually used to analyse the fulfilment of needs and motivation. Traditionally, basic needs list comprises of food (including water), clothing, and shelter. However, there are many modern lists that extends from the above to education, sanitisation, and most importantly healthcare.
The current dire health state in the country begs to evaluate the health system in Malaysia as providing a good health care and facility is a government’s fundamental duty towards its citizens. Healthcare distribution should be based on equity and not equality. The states of Sabah and Sarawak, which are collectively bigger in size than the peninsular suffer a smaller distribution of doctors and specialists than Peninsular Malaysia. There is a huge lack of medical centres and amenities that raises the cost in accessing health care in these states. The poor supporting infrastructures like roads, clean water, and electricity worsen the situation. Statistics show that 98 out of 215 rural clinics, do not have a doctor, and are only run by medical assistants and nurses. Many of these clinics also only provide basic medication such as paracetamol and rely heavily on irregular mobile medical services provided through air and water to the interiors.
According to Associate Prof Dr. Madeline Berma, an economic analyst, “Sarawak is among the top three richest states in Malaysia, contributing 9.7% of Malaysia’s GDP, behind Selangor (22%) and the Federal Territories (15.6%) in the State Socio-economic Report. However, it has seven of the 10 poorest districts in the country.
Sabah, on the other hand, is one of the states which have a firm economic foundation through agriculture, forestry as well as petroleum industries. However, Sabah is still considered a little behind her counterparts in the Peninsular Malaysia in terms of infrastructure and development. Till today, more than a third of the population in Sabah continue to live beyond 5km of any kind of health facility.
During this pandemic, public awareness is heightened as health and safety becomes the priority in every home. Constant flow of information via social media enables us to be more alert on the surroundings as we are hooked to our digital gadgets more than ever. Public become active information seekers on Covid-19 related matters locally and internationally and realise the commitments and sacrifice made by all the front liners, especially those involved in health service sector. Information on medical practitioners struggle to provide vaccinations to those who live in rural areas with poor transport systems are shared via social media.
While many medical front liners had fallen combatting the virus, the remaining ones keep marching while risking their lives fighting it. As statistics being revealed on the vaccination status every day, it is draining to see the rise in the number of cases and lower vaccination process in Sabah and Sarawak due to poor infrastructure in terms of transportation facilities and number of medical practitioners deployed there. Some medical officers take it upon them to visit rural areas to provide vaccination as the villagers are unable to go to the vaccination centres. Poor infrastructures in terms of road system affect the process too. However, these frontliners take it as a challenge and dedicate themselves in ensuring that ‘no one is left behind’ in receiving the vaccines.
During the 14th Parliament session, Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah expressed his appreciation and asked the Members of Parliament to stand and give a resounding applause to the frontliners, Paralympians, and the Olympians. This is a high endorsement to the frontliners, without whom, the country’s health system would be crippled.
Despite this, there are serious healthcare issues that should have been addressed in the past 58 years of being Malaysia. There is a huge need for doctors to treat patients in Malaysia. Absorbing those in contract into the system would help in addressing the severe shortage of doctors in Malaysia as they are the ones will be providing the first-hand medical treatment to the patients. As much as we need specialists, Medical Officers should be the priority now.
As Malaysia marches to its 58th year, the federal and state governments need to allocate more resources and tackle basic healthcare needs for all Malaysians as no one should be left behind. If this is the mantra of everyone, Malaysia will soar high.
“Happy birthday Malaysia!”
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of TVS.
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