Royal visitor: Sultan Abdullah greeting one of the patients during the inauguration ceremony of the haemodialysis centre in Taman Melati, Kuala Lumpur. Also present are Dr Shahidan (left) and Idris (second from left). — Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR: The opening of the Taman Melati Yayasan Al-Sultan Abdullah (Yasa) Haemodialysis Centre in the compound of the Salahuddin Al-Ayyubi Mosque in Taman Melati here was graced by the presence of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
The centre is the fourth set up by Yasa and the first to be located in the compound of a mosque.
Also in attendance was Tengku Panglima Raja Kol Tengku Amir Nasser Ibrahim Shah Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah.
His Majesty was welcomed upon arrival by Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Idris Ahmad and Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council (MAIWP) chairman Tan Sri Dr Mohd Daud Bakar.
After the opening ceremony, Sultan Abdullah spent some time with 12 kidney patients at the centre.
Comptroller of Istana Negara Royal Household Datuk Seri Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said the opening of the centre was in conjunction with His Majesty’s 63rd birthday on July 30.
Ahmad Fadil said His Majesty prayed that all kidney patients undergoing haemodialysis treatment would be blessed with strength and patience as living with kidney disease was not easy but full of challenges and risks of health complications.
“His Majesty also advises the people to always practise a healthy lifestyle, to watch their daily diet, and to avoid consuming products that can harm their kidneys,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Fadil said the centre had 12 dialysis machines and opened from 8am to 5pm from Monday to Saturday.
“It is a collaboration between Yasa, MAIWP, the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Department (Jawi) and private companies, as well as generous donors who extended help and donations to make the setting up of the centre a success,” he said.
Ahmad Fadil added that His Majesty’s great concern for chronic kidney patients and the need for haemodialysis services for those who could not afford them, especially from the M40 and B40 groups, had prompted him to set up haemodialysis centres to help ease the financial burden of the groups concerned.
“The setting up of Yasa haemodialysis centres is also purely aimed at helping the government because there are so many patients who need such treatment, with the number of new cases reaching 8,000 a year.
“The cost of treatment for all patients is fully sponsored by Yasa,” he said, Bernama reported.
Ahmad Fadil said the first three Yasa haemodialysis centres were in Pekan, Pahang, which opened on Dec 11, 2021; in Setiawangsa, Kuala Lumpur (opened on Aug 12, 2020); and in Cheras, KL (opened on Aug 7, 2019).
He said that these centres provided nearly 1,600 treatments per month, with machine usage ranging between 95% and 100% in each.
“Yasa is also planning to open another haemodialysis centre in Pahang early next year,” he added.
