YOURSAY | ‘Somehow or other, we will survive this – that’s the M’sian spirit.’

Rep recounts desperate bid to help Covid-19 patient as hospitals turn them away

Malaysianmalaysian: This is so sad and tragic. Why do the rakyat have to endure this? Where are the millions and billions spent on healthcare? Why can't people, who fell sick because of bad management of the Covid-19 situation, get access to healthcare?

There's blood on the hands of a lot of people. When those responsible for the spread and worsening of this pandemic enjoy their wealth and power, remember how many parents, children and breadwinners had to die. I wonder how these people sleep at night or look in the mirror, let alone pray?

Thank you to Subang Jaya assemblyperson Michelle Ng Mei Sze and her assistant for helping. But how many more have slipped through the cracks?

GrayCondor1956: Why are we in this situation? Perikatan Nasional (PN) cannot handle the pandemic.

They will not work with experts to arrest the Covid-19 rage. They are clinging on to power to ‘clean’ our coffers. How is it that even the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and sultans can do nothing with the political imbroglio?

Well, somehow or other, we will survive this - that is the Malaysian spirit. And when it is over and the dust has settled, we are going to take a long hard look at our system. We will then decide who has to go for the good of this nation.

And we must ensure that we are never again in this helpless situation where greed supersedes even basic humanity. And if proper laws are not enacted to ensure that this situation never again arises, the people will rise up as has happened in history.

This is the time when we common folks will stand together and help those around us get through these hard, dark times. Let us rise in solidarity to ride this out.

Right now, let’s help people get vaccinated as soon as possible. That is vital now. Let us take charge and let these scoundrels have their last days.

Anonymous Observer: Dear Ng, I feel very sorry for you and the Covid-19 patient you're trying to save from possible death. My thanks to you and many others, including our tireless frontliners.

I, too, experienced a similar situation whereby my effort to call 999 for an ambulance service at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) in Klang to assist a person gasping for breath was futile.

Assistance was not forthcoming. We had to send the patient to HTAR with the help of some volunteers, of course, at risk of getting infected ourselves.

Although the patient received appropriate attention, what would have happened if we had waited for the ambulance? The health authorities must be proactive and responsive to save lives!

FellowMalaysian: I have been a resident in Subang Jaya for the past 30 years and I share the plight of some unfortunate fellow residents whose lives have been thrown into this nightmare of Covid-19.

I take pride too that my elected assemblyperson Ng takes up the task of helping and highlighting such cases and spending her early morning hours desperately seeking help to save lives.

The big stumbling block that caused this impasse it seems is the dire lack of ambulances until there are cases of up to seven on the waitlist for each available ambulance.

I would like to suggest that once again, we crowdfund to save lives. Ng should set a target to collect some money to buy an ambulance complete with facilities. This vehicle can be managed by her team of volunteers, many of whom are residents of Subang Jaya.

I believe a well-equipped ambulance vehicle will cost less than RM500,000 and with the huge catchment of residents staying from Balakong to Sungai Besi and Subang Heights, there will be no shortage of trips for it to handle and operate 24/7.

So, over to Ng and her able and dedicated team of helpers to organise this. We are all ready to do our part and contribute.

2 Cents: I am pretty surprised that St John Ambulance only had six ambulances in operation that night.

That's a far cry from the so-called record of the largest fleet of ambulances in a district held by one of its chapters in Selangor and apparently recorded in the Malaysia Book of Records.

And I remember there was plenty of rah-rah in the past about Subang Jaya having their own community ambulance service called SJ Beacon. It looks like it's again plenty of hot air from attention-seeking individuals who fail to deliver when the community needs them most.

AlicesCat: @2 Cents, there are in total two SJ Beacon ambulances. They are run by volunteers who have day jobs. On the night in question, they were several men down - sakit (sick).

SJ Beacon has helped plenty in the community over the years. I should know because I live in Subang Jaya. These ambulances have come to my neighbour’s and my rescue many times in the past and still are.

Perikatan Failure: After being admitted into the hospital, if you are in a very serious stage of Covid-19 infection, you will have a low chance of coming out alive.

Is that why they want positive cases to quarantine at home? Is it because if you die, it is considered brought-in-dead (BID) so it is not the hospital’s responsibility and the hospital director can have a good KPI (key performance indicator)?

Anonymous 79: That's why Health Ministry director-general Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah and everyone in government, should not give us the wrong signal that this virus only attacks a small group of people.

When you all told us that 90 percent of people who got Covid-19 only got mild symptoms and a high number are discharged, people will think this is okay. People won’t take it seriously.

With this scenario in the Klang Valley, why doesn’t the government announce that they will stop the reopening of schools? Now with the Delta variant being so contagious, our children can get seriously ill.

If our children get Covid-19, will the government guarantee our children will have a hospital bed and good healthcare? Please don't risk our children’s lives.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. In the past year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now.

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.