The Story of Kam Agong: a clarion call for medical reform in Sarawak

Agnes and Lawrence have been pushing for better maternal medical healthcare in Sarawak for the past 17 years. Photo: Raja Faisal Hishan/The Star

For the past 17 years, Agnes Padan, 40, and her husband Lawrence Jayaraj, 50, have been on a mission to demand that the government improve maternal healthcare for women living in the interiors of Sarawak.

Their motivation is personal. In 2002, Agnes’s mother Kam Agong died from postpartum hemorrhage (excessive bleeding) two months after delivering her eighth child, Jordan, at the Lawas District Hospital.