Segera tubuh Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Kesihatan, kerajaan diberitahu

Dr Zaliha Mustafa, former Health Minister, has urged the government to expedite the establishment of a Health Service Commission as part of a comprehensive reform of the national healthcare system. She believes this is crucial to strengthening the welfare of state healthcare workers following the recent helicopter incident in Sarawak.

The accident, which resulted in the death of five people, including a pilot, a doctor, a nursing assistant, and two medical technicians, has once again highlighted the challenges and risks faced by healthcare workers when carrying out their duties in remote and difficult-to-access areas. Zaliha suggests that the government should accelerate efforts towards setting up the Health Service Commission as part of the broader healthcare system reform.

She acknowledges that the need for a more specialized mechanism to manage healthcare workforce has been recognized in the health white paper. She also notes that the issue of doctor-of-the-air workforce shortages, which has been raised since November 2025, is one of the examples showing the need for a more specific and responsive mechanism to handle healthcare workers' needs.

Zaliha argues that we should not wait for an issue to gain public attention before taking action. Instead, there should be a structure capable of continuously researching, organizing, and handling healthcare workforce issues in a systematic and prompt manner. On Tuesday, a doctor-of-the-air helicopter crashed near Long Lellang Short Take-Off and Landing Airport, resulting in the death of five people, including a pilot, a doctor, a nursing assistant, and two medical technicians.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) confirmed receiving information about the incident from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia at 3:58 pm, and the helicopter was on a doctor-of-the-air operation at the time.