Czech Republic To Fund Mobile Healthcare Clinic For Refugees In Malaysia. Our Government Should Be Ashamed
The United Nations' refugee agency formed a partnership Friday with the Czech Republic and Malaysian volunteer physicians to set up mobile clinics to boost health care for refugee communities.Doctors and nurses in vans will regularly visit 1,000 refugees, mostly people who fled military-ruled Myanmar, starting July 1 in Klang district near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's main city, said Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees' representative in Malaysia.
Refugees in Malaysia — who are not legally allowed to find employment — sometimes have trouble obtaining medical treatment because of financial costs, language barriers and problems in physically reaching hospitals and clinics, Turk told a news conference.
"It's a marginalized and vulnerable group that is not living in the most healthy environment," Turk said.
The Czech Embassy in Kuala Lumpur is providing US$20,000 to pay for medicine, while Mercy Malaysia, a nongovernment group, will supply the medical staff for the nine-month project.
***** Our government splurges like there is no tomorrow on by-elections and on populist, vote-winning, worthless and meaningless projects, but is incapable of looking after the health of a mere 1,000 refugees! It is disgraceful that the UN should take the initiative to provide this relief through the good offices and generosity of the Czech Republic and volunteer doctors in Malaysia. This clearly shows a callous indifference to the suffering and welfare of these poor people and is an unmindful abandonment of official responsibility.
What is the point of back-thumping and screaming "Malaysia Boleh!" when even the dire needs of fellow Asians cannot be soothed and relieved by us and it takes a European country to set things right here? We should be ashamed as a nation. So much for our much vaunted 'Asian values'! Third World we are and Third World we shall always be.
You can read the full report HERE.
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Labels: Government Inertia., Health
posted by The Malaysian. at 6/22/2007 07:07:00 PM
3 Comments:
Our government is incapable of looking after the health of the 1,000 refugees for the simple reason that they are not muslims. Numerous free university scholarships have been offered to muslim bosnian refugees to come to malaysia while thousands of cambodia muslims were airlifted here and given citizenship with bumi status in the mid-1970s.
However, due to their skin colr, African muslim refugees from somalia, sudan, darfur etc are given the cold shoulder.
Actually most of the refugees are Muslims, Rohingyas from Myanmar. And there are well over 45,000 of those in this country, so 1000 is a tiny fraction of those who need healthcare. Yes we should be ashamed that we are ignoring human beings who have nowhere to go, just because they cannot vote.
While we were busy with our money wasting egositic North Pole jump involving our hell riders, just compare these other expeditions:-
First expedition:
2007/04/16
Youth to the fore!
British-based youth development organisation Raleigh International, which is now based in Sabah, has managed to route water into the homes of two remote villages.
Village headman Waidi Jalin, who oversees the co-operation between the inhabitants and the international youths, said the new water supply system came as a blessing to more than 250 people who live there.
"We don’t have to carry water into the village anymore. With piped water, the workload to irrigate our crops is reduced drastically. Seeing the young people work and succeed is the best thing ever to happen in Sonsodoton," he remarked.
From Sosondoton, the Raleigh team will proceed to Miruru village in Kundasang where water woes is also an issue.
Villager Mailus Domayit, a rubber tapper, added that more than 500 people at Miruru would benefit from the programme.
"We will collaborate with our guests to build a gravity piping system from a water source that is located about six kilometre from the village."
Second expedition:
NST
30/04/2007
Gift of power for Sabah villagers.
KOTA KINABALU: British accents are a rarity in Kampung Wasai, Tamparuli.
But they have been heard more frequently since April 22, when 32
Britons descended on the village on a goodwill mission that will always
be remembered by villagers.
The automotive apprentices from the Jaguar, Land Rover and Aston Martin Academy UK worked tirelessly for four days to set up a hydro-powered generator that will supply power around the clock.
The academy provided funds for the trip but the apprentices raised the
money for the project. Their efforts paid off with GBP12,000 (RM81,000) in the kitty.
Villager Lawrence Bion, 64, said hydro-power would help the community in many ways, especially in terms of saving money that had gone to buy fuel for generators. "The money saved can go a long way towards buying other things like tools or kitchen ware," said the farmer, who taps rubber and plants tobacco, rice and tapioca.
Village leader Aloysius Paulus, 41, said children would benefit the most as they could study at night without generators breaking down.He will manage the power house where the generator has been placed.
"I can assure you that all of us will be looking after this gift from our friends from Britain. This is something we will not be able to repay and the only thing we can offer is our gratitude."
Saya rasa terharu dan segan membaca sumbangan pemuda-pemudi UK yang terlibat yang betul-betul berbakti kepada penduduk-penduduk di pendalaman Sabah, padahal mat rempit kita pulak merempit di kutub utara. Apatah lagi semua kos pula siap disponsor.
Berapa kos ekspedisi??
Berbaloi?
Renunglah!
Salaam.
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