2 Malaysia in health services

By Sim Kwang Yang (Malaysiakini)

As we approach September 16, the date on which Sarawak achieved independence through by joing Malaysia 46 years ago, my thought turns to the progress made in developing my home state.

The Malaysiakini report on the failed Flying Doctor Service is particularly illuminating, in highlighting the problems of public health care for the rural dwellers of Sarawak - and Sabah as well.

Readers of Malaysiakini are probably urban dwellers for whom medical facilities are taken for granted, along with clean water, sanitation, good roads, and all the amenities that are available aplenty in large cities and towns

If you get sick, there is always the neighbourhood GP's clinic; a jab and some pills will take care of the usual minor-ailments.

If you are really sick, there are always the public or private general hospitals with all the latest sophisticated medial equipment and the professional expertise at your disposal, as long as you can pay the bills.

But imagine this: what do you do when you get sick if you are a citizen living in a remote village in the deep interior of Sarawak?

Well, you try to consult the old folk or the local village healer, look for traditional medicines like some herbs and roots, and try to sleep off your ailment.

If you are afflicted with some serious conditions like cancer or a difficult child birth, you just lie down and wait to die.

Read more at: http://www1.malaysiakini.com/columns/112186