Wong Soon Koh.
KUCHING (Apr 23): Parti Sarawak Bersatu (PSB) views with grave concern over the circumstances surrounding the supply of faulty ventilators to Sibu Hospital.
In this regard, party president Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh also said it was baffling how Senator Robert Lau, in a statement, had denounced the incident as badly reflecting the treatment by the federal government towards Sarawak.
“We are not sure whether he (Lau) remembers that he is also part of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) federal government, through a voice in SUPP (Sarawak United People’s Party) or GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak),” said Wong, who is Bawang Assan assemblyman, in a press statement yesterday.
“It’s even more perplexing when Senator Lau went further to highlight that Sarawak hospitals, in particular those in the Rejang Basin, are lacking in facilities – with Sibu Hospital running low on equipment and having to borrow from private hospitals.”
“How pathetic can that be – that hospitals in ‘resource-rich Sarawak’ are lacking in facilities, running low on equipment and having to borrow them from private hospitals?
“Where is our Sarawak-born Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang – the federal Minister of Health II?
“Surely he can be our much-needed voice in this dire hour of need,” said Wong.
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Wong said the Minister of Local Government and Housing Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian, who is also advisor to Sarawak Disaster Management Committee (SDMC), was quick to thank the Ministry of Health (MoH) ‘for bringing 10 ventilators to Sarawak for immediate use to save lives’, while his assistant minister Dr Annuar Rapaee, who is Sibu Divisional Disaster Management Committee coordinator, was ‘boiling over’ in lambasting MoH for ‘insulting Sarawak by sending obsolete and non-functioning ventilators’.
“PSB is deeply concerned over all these issues, which have not only exploded on social media and the press, but are counter-productive towards the management and control of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Sarawak.
“We are talking about the procurement of life-saving equipment for Sarawak hospitals during a pandemic for usage of those ‘who cannot breathe’,” said Wong.
PSB, he pointed out, would expect the state government to ‘move a notch, if not notches higher than the conventional benchmarks’ in view of human lives being at stake – more so with the number of Covid 19-positive cases recording a rise day by day.
“We are not proud of Sarawak continuing to register more cases, and remaining among the top three in the number of new positive cases reported in Malaysia.
“Every hour of lost time is a chance for future misfortune, and procrastination is the thief of time.
“Thus, we call upon SDMC and the GPS-led state government to address this situation immediately, effectively and proactively without further compromise.
“We cannot afford any more mistake or mishap,” stressed Wong.