PETALING JAYA: The newly launched Next Generation Emergency Services is already facing hiccups in responding to emergency cases, says Dr R.A. Lingeshwaran.
He claimed that two ambulances were dispatched to the same spot in Telok Air Tawar, Butterworth, and 999 could not identify the actual unit sent.
The Dewan Negara senator also claimed that there was no response for 15 minutes in another case involving a death.
“This failure has a direct impact on the safety and lives of the people,” he said on Tuesday (Nov 18).
He said confirmed incidents of duplicate ambulance dispatches highlight serious coordination weaknesses, waste resources as well as cause delays in responding to other urgent cases.
“This situation is no longer a minor technical issue. It has the potential to become a national disaster that could cost lives,” said Lingeshwaran.
He said the failure of such a critical system is unacceptable and urged the government to act immediately with rectification measures to restore full functionality.
Lingeshwaran also said the government should explain the cause of the failure and preventive steps.
“Conduct a thorough audit of the entire NG999 infrastructure and operations to identify weaknesses. I urge the government to take transparent and decisive action to safeguard public safety,” he added.
He called on users of NG999 since its launch on Saturday (November 16) to share their experiences with him as public feedback is crucial to push for accountable improvements.
Lingeshwaran said several NGO ambulance services told him they are now receiving nonstop emergency calls directly from the public.
NG999 is an integrated digital system to enhance resource and data sharing between emergency call centres and central agencies.
It aims to improve the efficiency of emergency services.
