ISKANDAR PUTERI: The government must explain the technical difficulties involving the new 999 emergency hotline that have put the lives of many at risk, says a Johor assemblyman.
Gan Peck Cheng (Pakatan-Penggaram) said the matter was not just a technical issue but a question of life and death.
"The failure of the 999 emergency line for two days is unacceptable.
"I urge the government to give an immediate explanation, take corrective action immediately and provide a temporary alternative for district hospitals to respond in critical situations," she said in her speech during the Johor state assembly sitting here on Tuesday (Nov 18).
Gan said she had received a complaint from an old folk's home in her constituency after it was unable to reach the 999 emergency line despite multiple attempts since Monday (Nov 17).
"They made possibly more than a hundred calls to the 999 line but not a single one got through.
"They eventually had to use the Saveme app to lodge an emergency report. However, the return call only came nearly 50 minutes later," she said, adding this was extremely dangerous as it involved senior citizens.
"When the ambulance arrived, they were informed that the system was being changed.
"Even more worrying, the district hospital could not dispatch an ambulance because they had to wait for centralised instructions – something that had never been an issue before," she said.
The country's new emergency call system, the Next Generation Emergency Services (NG999), began operations on Nov 16, replacing the Malaysian Emergency Responses 999 (MERS999) system.
