MALAYSIA is considered an unhealthy country as it has a high number of people suffering from heart disease and obesity, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

He said the people also had low health awareness.

“If you ask me if Malaysia is now a healthy country, my answer is no. We are among countries that are tops in terms of obesity, heart disease and among the leading causes of Covid-19 death in the country is because most of the patients have comorbidities or chronic diseases.

“In Malaysia one in two people is obese, including myself, while one in four don’t practise physical activities and one in 20 does not eat a healthy diet.

“According to official statistics, half a million adults suffer from depression. I am sure this is lower than the actual figure,” he said in a guest appearance on TV1’s Selamat Pagi Malaysia today.

To realise Agenda Nasional Malaysia Sihat (ANMS), he said Malaysians needed to take the initiative to make behavioural changes and grow their health awareness without having to be prompted by the government.

“If we want to depend on the Health Ministry alone to monitor standard operating procedure compliance and issue compounds, we do not have the manpower. We want the country to succeed in terms of pandemic management,” he said, citing Japan which he said had successfully managed the pandemic through public behavioural changes without having to issue compounds.

Meanwhile, Khairy said a committee has been set up to bring together the ministries to report on the measures to be taken to realise ANMS.

He said besides the people’s health, the agenda also sets guidelines for air quality and ventilation in new buildings to prevent the spread of Covid-19. – Bernama, November 11, 2021.