The three-year-old Orang Asli boy from the Bateq tribe, Nasri Rosli, who is suffering from pneumonia, is in critical but stable condition, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waythamoorthy.

He said the child is now in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) in the Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital (HRPZII) in Kota Bharu after he was transferred from the Kuala Krai Hospital last Sunday.

"I am very satisfied with the intensive treatment the hospital provided him and I am impressed with the commitment, treatment and personal care he received,” he said.

Waythamoorthy was speaking after visiting the boy and his father, Rosli Jong, 30, who was also warded at the hospital since Sunday after he was suspected of contracting pneumonia.

Also present was hospital director Dr Selasawati Ghazali.

Commenting further, Waythamoorthy said Rosli would be discharged soon as he showed signs of recovery.

"Rosli will be placed nearer his son after he is discharged,” he said, adding that Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was expected to visit the Kuala Koh Orang Asli settlement in Gua Musang tomorrow.

The Health Ministry has confirmed that two of the 14 deaths involving the Orang Asli Bateq community in Kuala Koh within a month was due to pneumonia, although the actual cause of death will only be known after the results of tests conducted on them are known.

The health issues faced by the Orang Asli Bateq tribe community has resulted in 99 people given medical treatment, with four warded in the Intensive Care Units of the Kuala Krai Hospital and Raja Perempuan Zainab II Hospital in Kota Bharu.

- Bernama