Gerik needs maternity facilities urgently - Asyraf Wajdi

GERIK: Setting up maternity facilities will be one of the main focus of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki if he wins the Gerik Parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election as such a facility is lacking in the constituency.

He said there are currently no facilities for maternal care and delivery, especially in Pengkalan Hulu, so expectant mothers have to travel to the Baling Hospital and be registered in Kedah, instead of Perak.

"Hence, it is a necessity to create a maternity facility in order to facilitate all processes. Some (mothers) have complained after giving birth in the car. So we want to avoid a recurrence," said the Umno Youth leader in a recent interview with Bernama.

Also raised was the Gerik-Jeli road, including the village road, which needs upgrading, considering that the district contains the Royal Belum (State Park) Forest Reserve that can be 'commercialised' as an eco-tourism attraction.

"Imagine it is older than the Amazon jungle. Therefore, this rainforest reserve should be more commercialised (for road vantage) because its flora and fauna cannot be found in other forest reserves.

"In the Royal Belum Forest, there is also a hot spring that can become an attraction for eco-tourism. This old forest can draw many tourists and Gerik's economy too will progress," he said.

He also envisions creating an education hub like a satellite campus that offers short-term and long-term courses for certificate and diploma courses that will benefit the young people here.

In the race for the Gerik parliamentary seat, Asyraf faces opposition from Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Fathul Uzir Ayob and Ahmad Tarmizi Mohd Jam from Pakatan Harapan (PH).

-- BERNAMA