Code Blue report on the Ipoh GH ETD overcrowding crisis should be catalyst for two major Health Ministry initiatives — immediate short-term solution to all hospitals in post-Covid-19 pandemic era and long-term focus for Ministry to promote health of Malaysians and not just to deal with hospitals and diseases

The Code Blue report on the Ipoh General Hospital overcrowding crisis at its Emergency and Trauma Department (ETD) should be the catalyst for two major Health Ministry initiatives — immediate short-term solution to all overcrowding crisis in all hospitals in the post-Covid-19 pandemic era and long-term focus for the Ministry to promote the health of Malaysians and not just to deal with hospitals and diseases.

Will Dr. Zaliha Mustafa be the first Health Minister in the country who is promoting the health of all Malaysians and not merely looking after hospitals and diseases in the country, where the test is not to build more hospitals and clinics but to make them less and less necessary?

That is the challenge before the new Health Minister.

We had failed the Covid-19 pandemic test, as ASEAN was regarded as one of the worst regions during the Covid-19 pandemic, and Malaysia the worst country in the region.

In the last month of 2021, in the 30 days from Dec. 1–Dec. 30, Malaysia had 20 times Covid-19 cases and four times Covid-19 deaths of Indonesia, which has more than eight times the population of Malaysia.

As a result of the confidence-supply-reform (CSR) memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Prime Minister Ismail Sabri and the Pakatan Harapan leaders in September 2021, we ended in Malaysia the longest Covid-19 wave in the world and are now back to the pre-Emergency days in 2020.

Yesterday we recorded 1,241 Covid-19 cases and six deaths, while Indonesia registered 2,136 Covid-19 cases and 24 Covid-19 deaths. We had two days of three-digit Covid-19 cases in the past week.

This is why I suggested yesterday that Malaysia should study why we were so unprepared for the Covid-19 pandemic to learn the expensive lessons to ensure that Malaysia can be prepared to future pandemics.

But that is not all. The Health Ministry should take the lead for a new change of thinking where the Health Ministry should promote the health of all Malaysians and not just be a Ministry of Hospitals and Diseases.