Christine Leong
The minister of Higher Education Mohamed Khaled Nordin, officiated the opening of a 1Malaysia Clinic in Laman Tasek Harmoni, Johor recently.
The clinic is unique because it was located in a housing area.
He also gave away netbooks to residents earning less than RM3000.
He said the government is concerned about the well being of the people, so it has allocated RM13 billion for his ministry, and RM19 billion for the health ministry.
The 1Malaysia Clinics was tabled in the Budget 2010 by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak with an allocation of RM10 million for launching 50 1Malaysia Clinics.
The first 1Malaysia clinic located at Lembah Pantai in Kerinci began operation when the prime minister officially launched it on January 7, 2010.
These community clinics were intended for every Malaysia to have easy access to affordable healthcare at a minimal fee of RM1.
They are under the government’s 1Care programme and seek to provide quality healthcare to the public, particularly the lower income groups.
According to Khaled Nordin the 1Malaysia clinics operate daily, seven days a week, from 10am to 10pm and on public holidays.
The clinics are manned by paramedics, including medical assistants and trained nurses, who have more than five years experience.
The clinics cater to basic medical services for illnesses and injuries such as fever, cough, flu, cuts and wounds, as well as screening for diabetes and hypertension.
There are fifteen 1Malaysia Clinics in Johor, five of them are in the constituency of Pasir Gudang.
The five are in Taman Megah Ria, Tamn Seri Alam, Taman Cendana, Taman Desa Harmoni and Laman Tasek Harmoni.
The government plans to set up more than 150 1Malaysia Clinics nationwide.
Video by: Christine Leong, Citizen Journalists Malaysia
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