SAPP: Liew's sad story can happen to anyone

KOTA KINABALU, 17 March, 2009: Following the evacuation and desertion of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in last December, the people of Kota Kinabalu are not only being deprived of a proper-and-fully-functional general hospital, they are also likely to be deprived of the basic-yet-crucial need of ‘psychological care', especially from family members and friends, should they fall sick or had an accident that requires admission to the nearest government hospital.

Highlighting this was the "leading crusader" of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) debacle – Chong Pit Fah, who is also the Information Chief of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).

He cited the case of one resident from Telipok, Liew Kon Fatt as an example.

Liew, 44, lost one of his legs in an accident at his workplace last year and is now paralyzed waist-down. Initially, he was admitted to the QEH for physiotherapies treatment and received regular visits from family members and friends which he considered a significant morale booster.

Unfortunately, such a visit had now becomes a luxury to him ever since he was transferred from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in last September, to the Beaufort District Hospital due to the evacuation of QEH in stages late last year.

This was because his family members and friends could no longer afford to visit him regularly like before, due to the far distance involved which will easily take them half a day if they were to travel all the way from Kota Kinabalu to Beaufort to visit him.

His transfer to the Beaufort District Hospital was due to the fact that there were no other government-run hospitals or clinics in Kota Kinabalu that offer such facilities for physiotherapies.

To add on to his misfortune, Liew was also diagnosed with other illnesses which are currently pending for medical operation.

His plight came to light during an unscheduled visit by the Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) delegation led its President Datuk Seri Panglima Yong Teck Lee. Also in attendance were its Vice President Chin Hon Kiong, Datuk Rashid Gador, Thomas Chong, its Information Chief, Chong Pit Fah, Assistant Secretary, Foo Fook Ming, new member, Jaafar Ismail and a few of its Beaufort Zone representatives.

The said visit was prompted by complaints from some concerned members of the public while attending a religious function in Weston, last Sunday. It was found out that there were many patients from Kota Kinabalu who were transferred and admitted in the Beaufort District Hospital .

Saddened and upset by Liew's plight, Pit Fah thus questioned both the Federal and State governments when exactly will the residents of Kota Kinabalu get back a fully-equipped and functional general hospital.

"What will happen to the patients in this transition period? It is really sad to learn that currently they are even being deprived of such a basic need as care and comfort from family members," said Pit Fah.

He also noted that the remaining blocks of the QEH which are still functioning are also in bad shape and to make things worse, there was no generator set for power backup in the event of a power failure.

He thus described the ongoing QEH debacle as a reflection of gross callousness on the part of the Barisan Nasional-led government.

Meanwhile, Pit Fah who is also SAPP Kepayan CLC Chairman maintained his stand on the proposed conversion of the Wisma Khidmat into a general hospital replacing the QEH that, such was a bad idea.

He especially urged the State government not to attempt to ‘bailout' the long-abandoned building on the expense of QEH patients in particular, and the people of Sabah as a whole.

Noting that the said proposal had became much a talk of the town since its announcement recently, he urged all the other members of the State Cabinet to properly-and-promptly advise the Chief Minister to immediately rectify the ill-conceived proposal.

Pit Fah also expressed regret that among the scores of grand projects outlined in the economic stimulus package, none were meant to resolve the ‘health crisis' currently affecting the people of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah as a whole.

He claimed that the people of Sabah are outraged with the fact that the Government seems to have no qualms or whatsoever spending hundred of millions of taxpayers' money to purchase the submarines and to compensate the highway toll concessionaires but, can't afford to build the much-needed hospital to save lives.