JOHOR BARU: There is no problem with the uniform of nurses in the country and the focus should instead be on providing good services to the people, says Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
“There (is a dress code) that nurses adhere to when it comes to uniforms, and it is clear to me that there is no problem.
“We have just tabled the Health White Paper and we should be focusing on what is important, which is providing the best health services.
“For now, I do not see the uniform as an issue,” she told reporters when met after the handing over ceremony of three projects from the Public Works Departments to the Health Ministry here yesterday.
She said this when asked to comment on Kuantan MP Wan Razali Wan Nor’s remarks on the attire of nurses.
While debating the White Paper of Public Health Reforms in the Dewan Rakyat recently, he had said the government should consider changing the uniforms for nurses as they were “too tight and not syariah-compliant.”
The PAS MP has since come under fire from many Malaysians and organisations over his remarks.
On another matter, Dr Zaliha said her ministry will be having more awareness initiatives to ensure that the public is aware of the Health White Paper.
“I know that the people may not be fully aware of the Health White Paper, and we will reach out to them to ensure that they know and understand the importance of health,” she said.
She also said that negotiations over a piece of land that is expected to be the location of Hospital Sultanah Aminah 2 (HSA2) is still ongoing between her ministry and the Defence Ministry.
“The Defence Ministry is aware of the importance of health, and they will look into the suitability of using the land they own for the construction of the hospital,” she said when asked about the progress of HSA2.
On Thursday, state health and unity committee chairman Ling Tian Soon said that discussions were ongoing between the Health and Defence ministries with regard to a piece of land in Skudai for the proposed HSA2.
He said this was because the land that has been identified as a suitable location for the hospital is owned by the Defence Ministry.
“We faced some difficulties with regards to the land matter previously and asked the Health Ministry to carry out discussions with the land’s owner.
“Once the land matter has been resolved, we can proceed to apply for an allocation for the construction of the hospital,” he told a press conference after the state assembly sitting recently.
Earlier, Dr Zaliha witnessed the handing over ceremony of three projects, namely, a new Pathology Lab at HSA, a health clinic at Taman Ungku Tun Aminah, and a health clinic at Palang Timur, Segamat.
Meanwhile, in a Facebook post, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi expressed his gratitude to the Health Ministry and Dr Zaliha for having a discussion with the state government on several health matters, among which, he said, were the lack of staff, improvements to infrastructure, and the construction of HSA2.
Onn Hafiz also thanked the ministry for the projects amounting to RM73.5mil that would be completed soon.
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