Health minister wanted urgently

KUALA LUMPUR (March 2): The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy has called on the new administration led by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to prioritise the identification and appointment of a suitable Member of Parliament to assume the position of health minister.

"The new government must place the response and management of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak as a matter of the highest priority to protect the health and safety of all Malaysians," said its chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib in a statement today.

"The appointment of the health minister will fill a critical gap in the leadership of our public health system, particularly of the COVID-19 multi-ministerial taskforce. She or he will need to ensure that our critical frontline healthcare professionals and supporting services continue to be provided with adequate logistical, manpower and funding. This will ensure that Malaysia's health services are able to maintain its efforts to contain the disease and treat those infected."

Azrul noted that Malaysia's response on COVID-19 has been exemplary thus far and ahead of many countries.

"However, the World Health Organisation has recently increased its COVID-19 risk assessment to the highest level of alert or highest level of risk assessment in terms of spread and impact. We appear to be on the precipice of a pandemic, if we’re not already in one.

"We have seen the role of health minister become more essential than ever before to communicate developments and progress to the Malaysian public of the ongoing efforts by the government to curtail the health threat. Strong and competent leadership makes a difference," said Azrul.

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