KOTA BARU – Former Parti Amanah Nasional (Amanah) Kelantan chairman Senator Datuk Husam Musa has called on charitable organisations to raise funds for frontliners battling rising Covid-19 infections in the country.
“We have been at war for the past year. It looks like the conflict will continue for the foreseeable future. We must be there with our frontliners,” he said.
“Aiding the public sector must be given the utmost importance, especially for the healthcare sector at the forefront of the war against the pandemic,” Husam told journalists here today.
He was reading an open letter from a doctor at Sungai Buloh Hospital, who had shared the lack of facilities to assist frontliners in their ongoing battle against the virus.
“Helping doctors must be accorded top priority,” he said.
Husam also urged communities to band together to help frontliners by donating generously to ensure they have the best facilities and assets to fight the virus.
He said that he has decided to donate RM1,000 from his monthly senator’s salary to medical frontliners, going specifically to Sungai Buloh Hospital, the main epicentre medical facility battling the pandemic, as cases have now hit over 150,000 in the country.
Husam said he was moved to donate after reading the open letter, in which the doctor claimed that his colleagues do not have a proper resting lounge, food for those on shift duty, or better facilities to treat the virus due to a shortage in government allocations.
He said that he would donate his salary in solidarity with the doctors, which he hoped other elected representatives would likewise emulate, and would hopefully motivate frontliners to fight on.
The former state executive councillor, a confidant to late Kelantan menteri besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, said that the open letter, entitled “Treat Us Humanely”, may symbolise the aspirations of every doctor battling the virus in the country.
“My gut feeling tells me that the situation is unsettling for frontliners since there is a surge of cases in the past months.
“It will affect their morale and ability to fight the virus well. Humans are not robots. The welfare of all frontliners, including police and military, must be given priority.”
Husam, who is also the chairperson of the Darul Hijrah Foundation, said that he also plans to get the organisation involved to raise funds to help frontliners. – The Vibes, January 19, 2021
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