King graces opening of Taman Melati YASA Haemodialysis Centre

Tengku Panglima Raja Col. Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah was also in attendance.

His Majesty was welcomed upon arrival at 11 am by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad and chairman of the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) Tan Sri Dr Mohd Daud Bakar.

After the opening ceremony, Al-Sultan Abdullah also spent some time with 12 kidney patients, three of whom were women, who were receiving treatment at the centre.

Meanwhile, Comptroller of Istana Negara Royal Household Datuk Seri Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin in a statement said the opening of the centre was in conjunction with His Majesty's 63rd birthday on July 30.

Ahmad Fadil said His Majesty also prayed that all kidney patients undergoing haemodialysis treatment would be blessed with strength and patience as living with kidney disease is not easy, but full of challenges and risks of health complications.

"His Majesty also advises the people to always practice a healthy lifestyle, to watch their daily diet and to avoid consuming products that can harm their kidneys," he said.

Meanwhile, he said Taman Melati Haemodialysis Centre, which is the fourth set up by YASA and the first to be located in the compound of a mosque, has 12 dialysis machines and is open from 8 am to 5 pm from Monday to Saturday.

"It is a collaboration effort between YASA, MAIWP, Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (JAWI) and private companies, as well as generous donors who extended help and donations to make the setting up of the centre a success," he said.

As such, he said Al-Sultan Abdullah also expressed his highest appreciation to MAIWP, JAWI, relevant agencies, companies, donors, as well as the mosque's management committee for their cooperation and contributions.

"His Majesty also called on more individuals and private companies to assist the targetted groups to get haemodialysis treatment through donations and sponsorships, especially now that many people were still struggling with the impact of COVID-19 pandemic," he said.

Ahmad Fadil said His Majesty's great concern for chronic kidney patients and the need for hemodialysis services for those who cannot afford it, especially from the M40 and B40 groups, had prompted him to set up haemodialysis centres to help ease the financial burden of the group concerned.

"The setting up of YASA haemodialysis centres is also purely aimed at helping the government because there are so many patients who need such treatment, with the number of new cases reaching 8,000 cases a year.

"What's more special, the cost of treatment for all patients is fully sponsored by YASA," he said.

Ahmad Fadil said the first three YASA haemodialysis centres are in Pekan, Pahang, which was opened on Dec 11, 2021, in Setiawangsa (opened Aug 12, 2020) and in Cheras (opened Aug 7, 2019), had provided almost 1,600 treatments per month, with the percentage of machine usage in each centre being between 95 and 100 per cent.

"YASA is also planning to open another haemodialysis centre in Pahang early next year," he added.