Prioritise lives, postpone 5G network by a year – Charles Santiago

YOU need people to be alive to enjoy the 5G network by Sweden’s Ericsson. 

Dozens of Malaysians and non-citizens are dying by the day due to Covid-19.

Malay Mail journalist Yiswaree Palansamy reported about doctors being forced to play God due to a lack of resources. 

We have all known about this through private conversations with medical practitioners who revealed their grief because they have to decide who should get the next ICU bed or be intubated. 

As Palansamy says, doctors cannot reveal this publicly as they can’t do so under general orders.

But the government must have been privy to this information and, yet, look at where their priority lies: the 5G network, costing a whopping RM11 billion.

These funds should instead be used to build make-shift hospitals and buy lifesaving equipment, including oxygen tanks and ventilators.

And, not to mention hospital beds, as hospitals are struggling to cope due to the rising number of virus cases. 

Further, the government could spend more funds to purchase vaccines and invest in home-based Covid-19  test kits (such as saliva kits) and pulse oxymeters for home monitoring.

When I go to my constituency, Klang, people express their concerns about affordable access to hospital and medical care. 

Now that Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital has been converted into a full Covid-19 facility, these folk who are mainly from the B40 group, will be forced to seek treatment from private hospitals. 

Unfortunately, they can’t afford to be treated there because it’s expensive. 

And so, the government must direct private hospitals to charge these patients at lower rates and allow them to claim income tax exemptions to mitigate their losses. 

The government would know about these grievances of the rakyat if its ministers and their deputies bothered to go down to the ground. 

But greed for power seems to be their only focus. 

Digital Nasional Bhd, which appointed Ericsson, and its chairman, Asri Hamidon, have said the plans remain on track as the 5G network and ecosystem are scheduled to be launched by year-end in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya.

Let’s be clear: 5G network development is important but the current priority should be to bolster the collapsing heathcare system and save lives. 

So, to the government I say: postpone the plan by one year for now. – The Vibes, July 12, 2021

Charles Santiago is Klang MP