RANAU: Hundreds of residents from remote areas in the interior of the district stormed the “Projek Komuniti Sinar Baru, Kg Lobou Lama” health programme held on Saturday.
Jointly organised by the Malaysian Family Medicine Specialists Association (FMSA) it brought together doctors from various backgrounds to provide free medical services to villagers.
The programme which aims to provide health knowledge and train the community to practise and maintain good health practices was officiated by Ranau Member of Parliament, Datuk Jonathan Yasin.
“My presence in this programme is to ensure that the residents around Kg Lobou Lama get an aid channel in line with the Government’s wish of ‘Health For All and No One’s Left Behind’.
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“I am very happy and would like to express my deepest appreciation to the Sabah FMSA for choosing Ranau for a beneficial community project,” he said.
FMSA specialists who are on duty throughout Sabah, as far as Tawau and Semporna Districts, have moved here from Thursday to be with the nearby villagers.
Jonathan urged residents to take the opportunity to meet with experts and ask questions about health problems and get involved in all the activities provided.
“Hopefully, this project will also be successful in strengthening the relationship between the villagers and the health staff in taking care of health while increasing awareness of the importance of taking care of health and implementing healthy lifestyle practices among the community.
“Thank you to FMSA for making this outreach initiative a reality. Hopefully, anything planned for the future by this organisation will go smoothly and bear fruit.
“I am also grateful to the Department of Veterinary Services and the Ranau District Fisheries Office for working together to make this programme a success with the community,” he said, when officiating the Sinar Baru Community Project, Kg Lobou Lama that was held at the village’s St Charles Lwanga Church compound on Saturday.
He said the latest statistics show that 25 per cent of adults in Malaysia have chronic diseases, especially high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol levels.
In Sabah, he said, the 2019 National Health and Morbidity survey statistics showed that almost 30 per cent of Sabah’s population had chronic diseases, especially high cholesterol levels.
“The risk of getting a disease will increase with age. One of the reasons is due to unhealthy lifestyle practices.
“If we do not act, it is expected that more than 50 per cent of the elderly over the age of 60 will suffer from chronic diseases.
“Take the opportunity today to get a health screening. If health problems are detected early and treated well, we can avoid complications such as heart attack, stroke, kidney disease that can interfere with daily life,” he said.
Jonathan added there are currently two Family Physician specialists stationed in Ranau Area. He fully supports that more specialists be stationed here and the quality of health services in Ranau Area also needs to be improved.
Among the activities offered throughout the programme are health talks, medical consultation to make a diagnosis, treatment of minor illnesses and referral to the Clinic, health screening for adult men and women, the elderly and teenagers, dental check-ups, cancer screening, child immunisation and also cooking competitions and health quizzes.
Also present were Chairman of the Sinar Baru Community Project Steering Committee, Dr Zaiton Bt Yahaya, Chairman of the Sinar Baru Community Project, Dr Tan Huey Yee, FMSA representative, Dr Nadia Hamimah Bt Kamaludin, Sabah FMSA representative, Dr Haryati Bt Hamzah, representative of the Ranau Health Office, Dr Flecia Kundayis and JPKK Lobou Lama, Jaimon Pandakan.
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