THE Sarawak Health Department has assured the family of a cancer stricken woman from Long Sebangang in the state’s northern district of Lawas that it will continue to treat her despite her being stripped of her MyKad.

State Health Director, Dr Ooi Choo Huck, said the specialist clinic at Miri hospital will honour the scheduled follow-up treatment they had made with her for this week.

However, the social activist who highlighted the plight of 65 year-old Lina Samuel doubted she could keep that appointment.

“There’s no likelihood she could travel,” social activist Agnes Padan said.

The National Registration Department, in stripping Lina of her MyKad last November meant she has no papers to travel to Miri where she has been getting specialised treatment at Miri hospital since February.

The Lawas hospital has no doctors or facilities to treat cancer, do ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

For the mother of four to get to Miri, she has to either fly by taking a rural air service flight or take the road, but without her MyKad or any valid document, she could not do so.

If she were to fly, she could not check-in without valid papers.

By road, she needs papers to cross Brunei Darussalam. Patients from Limbang or Lawas being transported to Miri via Brunei for medical treatment, need only to show their MyKad.

Ooi, in response to Padan’s appeal for the Health Department “to show some humanity” to a cancer patient in dire need of medical attention, said health services for her, and patients in a similar situation like her, would be provided “regardless of the patient’s nationality”.

He added that Miri hospital had performed several procedures on Lina, including an MRI on February 15, a surgical procedure on February 17, and follow-up imaging on March 20.

He also said Miri Hospital had provided appropriate services to Lina.

Ooi also pointed out that Lawas hospital had provided medical services to Lina in April despite not having her MyKad.

He said his department had contacted one of Lina’s two daughters to assure her that Lawas and Miri hospitals “will never refuse to treat her mother”.

“The Sarawak Health Department is committed to providing the best service to the people of the state regardless of their background, but subject to current laws and regulations,” Ooi said.

Padan, when speaking to The Malaysian Insight, said the only option now left to Lina is to wait for the Miri surgeon treating her to come to Lawas.

“A doctor at the Lawas hospital did try to make an arrangement with the Immigration Department there for Lina to travel to Miri on the 17th.

“However, there is nothing much they could do for the moment, ” Padan said.

“She has a photocopy of her MyKad which she could use to travel. But that’s a risk not worth taking,” Padan said.

Kelvin Yii, the Bandar Kuching MP who was recently appointed special advisor to the Health Minister, is working on a solution for Lina.

Yii said even though Lina no longer has a MyKad, “she should not be denied access to healthcare”.

“No one should be denied access to healthcare, regardless of their background, especially when it comes to life-saving cancer treatment,” he said.

He said the issue with Lina has opened the question of access to healthcare by the stateless or those without proper documents, who were born and bred in the country.

Lawas is hemmed in to the north by Sabah and to the south by the Brunei district of Temburong. – April 12, 2023.