KUALA TERENGGANU: Datuk Dr Mohd Johari Mohamad spends his days treating patients at his clinic, but the ophthalmologist is now looking at the bigger picture and aims to “treat” the nation.
The Terengganu-born Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Dungun parliamentary seat has been making his rounds, bringing along his medical equipment and meeting the rakyat to hear them out.
“When I go to the ground, especially in rural areas, you can see that old folks there are being left out, especially in terms of healthcare.
“I bring along my equipment and conduct health and eye screenings for them.
"There were many incidences of cataracts and some were even blind in one eye but they still refused to go to the hospital because of the long queues and the distance,” Dr Johari said.
He said it had been six years since the Dungun Hospital had been proposed and it was supposed to have opened in April this year but was yet to begin operations.
The prolonged delay, he said, would cause more damage to the facilities, which were previously reported to be 98% been completed.
“That’s why I’m here to tell the people, enough is enough and I'm here to serve the rakyat and help the people. It’s not just hospitals and healthcare but there is very little development in the beach area.
"They only developed the roads and more than 50% of the forest reserve is still unused,” he said, adding that even the markets are not developed.
Dr Johari said there is much that can be done in Dungun.
As Dungun is also rich in fresh seafood, he said it should be developed into a frozen food hub for exports to other countries and not just within Malaysia.
Despite contesting in a PAS stronghold, he said the locals were quite welcoming of his visits, especially when they found out that that he is a professional.
He said he even offered free surgeries to locals who are in dire need as the local hospital’s appointments are limited.
“I told them after the election, just call me or my PA and I'll take care of you because at my centre, I have everything, I can operate for you free of charge,” he said with a smile.
Dr Johari will be facing a five-cornered fight in the 15th General Election (GE15)
He will go against incumbent Dungun MP Wan Hassan Mohd Ramli (PAS), Nurhisham Johari (Barisan Nasional) Nuraisah Hasan (Parti Pejuang Tanah Air); and lawyer Ghazali Ismail, an independent candidate.
In GE14, Wan Hassan won the parliamentary seat with a majority of 13,119 votes, defeating Datuk Din Adam (Barisan) and Abd Rahman Yusof (PKR).
