Sabah expert says health services 'crumbling'

Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sabah Medical and Health Bureau head, Dr Felix Chong Kat Fah, is mystified that the State Health Department (SHD) is playing deaf, dumb and blind on the precarious state of its services following the continuing and increasing influx of illegal immigrants.

Dr Chong says that as a former government hospital director he has brought his concerns to the attention of the SED - “for them to do some serious soul-searching” - but to no avail as they “continue to sweep things under the carpet”. Instead, the National Registration Department (NRD) in Putrajaya has sprung to SED’s defence, he added, “albeit indirectly” by denying they have issued MyKads to illegal immigrants.

“I will address the issuance of MyKads to illegal immigrants separately since the NRD itself has stirred the hornet’s nest on the issue,” said Dr Chong in an email statement to Malaysiakini late last night. “I am more concerned over the humanitarian aspects of the precarious state of public healthcare services in Sabah.”

Elaborating on his statement, he pleaded that his primary concern at the moment as a practicing physician is the frustrating situation of the illegal immigrants overloading the state’s already inadequate health services, and placing the lives of everyone at great risk. Besides, it appears that illegal immigrants have left behind unpaid bills totaling millions of ringgit at government hospitals in Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Keningau.

Illegal Mykads, unpaid bills

“The public wards in the government hospitals are full of illegal immigrants with MyKads who will not pay for the expensive services rendered to them,” said Dr Chong. “Eventually, these unpaid bills are written off.”

The good doctor implied that there appears to be a “wink, wink” factor at work when it comes to settling the medical bills. All an illegal immigrant has to do is to tell hospital authorities that they “will settle the bills on an installment basis” and thereafter do the disappearing act. It is not unlikely that illegal immigrants advise each other on how to avoid paying their medicals bills using this line of reasoning, or perhaps are given subtle hints by “sympathetic” hospital staff themselves.

The good doctor has also discovered that pregnant women in neighbouring countries enter the state illegally at the very last minute, under the cover of darkness, to take advantage of the medical and health facilities “and to obtain local birth certificates for their children”.

“They travel for hours by boat from the Philippines and Indonesia and after that walk for miles along the beach in their advanced state of labour,” disclosed Dr Chong. “Such practices are especially rampant in Tawau and Semporna.”

At the same time, it is ironic that an even greater number of illegal immigrants shy away from seeking medical attention until the very last minute or by the time it’s too late to do anything to save their lives, added Dr Chong. “This is the moral and humanitarian dilemma posed by the illegal immigrants.”

Resources overburdened

Already, public health nurses spend much time tracking down illegal immigrants in the squatter colonies who refuse to seek pre-natal and ante-natal care, he continued. “Many of them, despite being armed with MyKads, refuse to register at the health clinics to help detect medical problems early.”

Dr Chong cites several instances of illegal immigrants putting the public healthcare facilities and services under severe strain.

Pregnant mothers who attempt home deliveries top the list of concerns. Generally, these women will attempt to rush to the nearest hospital “hoping for miracles” only when post-natal hemorrhage and other birth complications arise. Other cases involve those who have neglected their illnesses for a long time and only seek the help of government hospitals when it is often already too late.

“This is a burden on the hospitals in terms of doctors, nurses and other human resources,” explained the DAP member. “There is also greater stress on expensive and scarce resources like specialised equipment, expensive medication, special procedures and surgery.”

Not only are government hospitals finding the treatment of illegal immigrants an expensive proposition, but their presence also deprives locals of critical services like intensive care at a time when they most need them.

The end result, according to Dr Chong, is that Sabah has the dubious distinction of boasting a high incidence of maternal and infant mortality and infant diseases, caused by illiterate illegal immigrants, a refusal to take vaccinations, unhygienic living conditions, breeding like rabbits as early as 13 years of age, and only seeking medical treatment at critical stages or almost at the very last minute of their lives.

“The overloading of the state’s public healthcare facilities and services is only part of the problem caused by the continuing influx of illegal immigrants,” stressed Dr Chong. “They also contribute to socio-economic problems, crime and dabble in local politics where they have MyKads and are entered (into) the electoral rolls.”

The good doctor, in a final note, observed that everyone knows who the illegals are and where they stay, that is, generally hidden behind the thick foliage in bush country everywhere including Kota Kinabalu.

“We are living in a make believe world where the ruling BN (Barisan Nasional) leaders tell us that Malaysia is paradise on us, that BN leaders are all saints and we should all shut up or be locked up under the ISA (Internal Security Act),” observed Dr Chong. “We need to address public healthcare concerns in Sabah urgently irrespective of our political leanings.”