Kuala Lumpur, Feb 6 – Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya today expressed worry over the state of health of Malaysians, saying both government and private hospitals in the country recorded three million warded patients last year.
He said the figure was huge because it was more than 10 per cent of the total 27 million population of the country.
“It is quite high and worrying and should be taken seriously by all the people. Every individual must take steps to maintain his or her health because preventive care is cheaper than treatment,” he said.
Hilmi spoke to reporters after officiating at the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Orion Healthcare Management Services Sdn Bhd and Angkatan Koperasi Kebangsaan Malaysia Berhad (Angkasa), here.
Also present were Orion Healthcare Management chairman Datuk Dr Ma’amor Osman, Orion Healthcare Management CEO Kho Brandon and Angkasa president Datuk Abdul Fattah Abdullah. Kho and Abdul Fattah signed the MoU, witnessed by Hilmi and Ma’amor.
Hilmi said good health not only contributed to national development but also helped the government save costs in terms of medical treatment.
“The deteriorating health of the people had raised the government’s medical treatment expenditure, from RM20 billion in 2013 to RM22 billion this year,” he said.
On the MoU, Hilmi said it was a collaboration between Orion Healthcare Management and Angkasa in creating awareness on the importance of medical examination for all members of cooperatives.
Ma’amor said the collaboration enabled Orion Healthcare Management to provide information and health checks to about eight million members of cooperatives.
– Bernama
