Like the writer, I too was sad to read Keruah Usit's heartrending article. How apt the title which describes the ordeal of one whose experience must have been one of utter physical pain, emotional anguish and gratuitous humiliation.
It is a plight not only confined to rural folks but to the urban poor in the country. It is not a plight unique to Malaysians but of the suffering poor all over the world. But when it occurs in your own backyard, the pain is more poignant and you wonder how it can happen in a country that can afford billions on submarines that serve no useful purpose but fail someone like Alice.
Alice need not have died in vain if the government takes notice and examines ways to alleviate the sufferings of those in her predicament. Those of us who have ready access to medical services can't begin to imagine the plight of rural folks that Keruah Usit mentioned in his article.
Perhaps every Malaysian from school children to the politicians in parliament ought to read the article which is an eye-opener. We who are privileged tend to take things for granted.
It reminds me of an incident in 1980 when I accompanied a government doctor into the remote interior to visit an Orang Asli settlement that had come down with a mysterious sickness and the infants were dying. I vaguely remember the details but I vividly recall the mothers taking their children home at night to die in their homes. Several babies died from the outbreak of the sickness and all we could do was watch helplessly.
What I find highly unacceptable is the fact Malaysia is a rich country. Its petro-dollars could finance many regional hospitals and there is no reason why public health should be sub-standard or expensive for those who can't afford it. Prevention is better than cure and if Malaysians are given better public health information many people need not get sick.
But if there is no concern, help will not be forthcoming.
The heart of political reform must be to provide a better society for the people. When governments are not corrupt and everything is done honestly and efficiently then you can claim it is a good nation because there is a good administration in charge. Talking about superfluous ideals and sloganeering seem hypocritical when so many Malaysians don't have access to urgent medical services.
And a country that has not grappled with providing the basic health services to its people but boasts of sending astronauts into space must seriously have its priorities questioned, unless it is a hopeless case of megalomania. Then it is out of touch with reality like the infamous Marie Antoinette who told the poor, starving peasants to ‘eat cake.' The money the government loses in white elephant projects, kickbacks and other acts of public wastage, could have been used on more specialist hospitals.
However, in fairness, I think the government does have very good support in some areas that I have seen first hand. I had a friend, now deceased, who worked in the railways and who was able to get expensive medication for a long time and major operations on the government account. I also know that poor people can also get cheap medicine from government clinics. So it is not all negative and the government does try to provide assistance but regrettably not enough.
Alice's story highlights the glaring gaps. Perhaps it is time for the government to do a proper audit of its services and make the provision for medical services a priority. Why not use all that money spent on the controversial National Service programme on improving national health services?
Already 60,000 young adults have been exempted from the NS scheme so it is not that critical whereas the health of sick Malaysians is.
I suspect there must be inefficiencies and even corruption in the health procurement system and if a proper management and financial audit is done, how much cost savings it will uncover is anyone's guess.
I think it is time rural amenities be upgraded to match what are available in urban areas. Only then can the country draw closer to the concept of ‘1Malaysia' where Malaysians everywhere are entitled to one standard of service and those in rural areas should not be expected to live with a mediocre everything.
And judging from Alice's shabby treatment, I hope that Malaysians in the medical profession, from those who work at the reception to the doctors themselves, will show greater humility when dealing with the public especially those who are poor or not worldly-wise. A dose of humility and kindness in dealing with patients will go a long way towards helping them as much as the medicine they prescribe.
It was bad attitude that discouraged Alice, though she had been earlier helped by some 'good Samaritan' doctors. No one deserves to be treated shabbily because they are too poor to pay their bills. A little compassion goes a long way and of all people, those who deal with sick people should be more compassionate.
Alice did not die in vain if there are new facilities to enable cancer to be detected early. Until then, Alice's case may just be the tip of the iceberg. No reform is as critical as in health.