Bandar Kuching MP ready to assist Health Ministry in healthcare agenda

KUCHING: Bandar Kuching Member of Parliament Dr Kelvin Yii Lee Wuen has offered his experience to assist both Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa as well as her deputy, Lukanisman Awang Sauni in realising the nation's healthcare agenda and reforms.

Dr Yii who was previously elected as chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Health, Science and Innovation said he will continue to play his role in the Dewan Rakyat to push the health agenda that includes the Health White Paper (HWP) initiated by the then government for the benefit of the country.

"They are my friends and I have spoken to Dr Zaliha last week to share my views on things that she can concentrate on especially for the next 100 days. One of the things is what we have been doing together with the previous minister Khairy Jamaluddin and hopefully, she can implement it as soon as possible," he told reporters after attending the Sarawak DAP committee meeting here, today.

HWP was proposed by Khairy early this year and aimed towards the reformation of the country's health system, especially in ensuring that it would be future-proof.

Dr Yii acknowledged that Dr Zaliha and Lukanisman were given a crucial role to address long-term issues regarding the health sector such as underfunding and neglect in the healthcare system in Malaysia.

Therefore, he said that the Health Minister would need some time to actually have a grasp on the current issues in the country.

"I would rather want her (Dr Zaliha) to understand (the health issues) in depth before making commitments than making commitments without understanding the issues," he added.

-- BERNAMA