KUALA LUMPUR: Extra accommodation will be built at government hospitals for family members of poor patients to reduce the burden of having to pay for lodgings.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said some of the family members came from distant parts of the country to take care of their loved ones and many of them could not afford to pay for temporary accommodation.
She said the service was currently available only at Selayang Hospital.
The ministry hoped to offer similar services at other hospitals including Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital in Kuantan, Sultanah Zahirah Hospital in Kuala Terengganu and Raja Perempuan Zainab Hospital in Kota Baru.
Shahrizat was speaking to reporters after attending the launch of a “bonding programme with patients” at Selayang Hospital yesterday.
The hospital has been providing free accommodation for visiting family members at Anjung Kasih, which has 18 rooms, a surau, a rest area and toilets including one for the disabled, since 2006.
Priority is given to visitors from outside Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, who have to care for the very sick and cannot afford decent accommodation.
However, they have to pay a refundable deposit of RM50 for use of the facilities.
Shahrizat said that so far 940 family members had stayed at Anjung Kasih and that more would benefit from such a service when it was offered at other hospitals.
On the case of part-time model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, who was fined RM5,000 and ordered to be whipped six times for drinking beer, Shahrizat said the sentence imposed on her was heavy for a woman.
“No one is challenging the sentence, which is provided for under the Syariah law, but the issue is that the RM5,000 fine and six strokes for a female is too heavy,” she said.
She added that while Kartika had been informed that she had the right to appeal, she had insisted on receiving the sentence.
“Therefore, we need to respect her will and her decision not to appeal,” Shahrizat said.
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