THE HEALTH | OCTOBER , 2022

AS PART of its third-anniversary campaign to highlight the importance of knowing one ’ s family health history , Sunway Medical Centre Velocity ( SMCV ) recently held a day of fun for the community to raise funds for the National Kidney Foundation of Malaysia ( NKF ).

A total of 50 teams of four participated in the event , titled SMCV Treasure Quest 2022 , which saw the participants hunting for clues and treasures along the Sunway Velocity Township to be in the running to win prizes in terms of monetary , screening vouchers and more from SMCV and their participating partners . The event was open to public members , and each team submitted a participation fee , which was collected and donated to NKF .

Through the participants ’ generosity , SMCV was able to raise and donate a hundred per cent of the collected funds to NKF , which will aid them in their mission to provide a better quality of life for their patients and raise more awareness surrounding kidney health . Derrick Chan , CEO of SMCV , shares , “ SMCV is proud to partner with our beneficiary , NKF , to provide more hope for patients with health issues relating to their kidneys .

“ We are very encouraged by the public ’ s willingness to contribute to this good purpose of helping others and look forward to having more such events with the community so we can get to know them and their needs better . Through this event and our anniversary campaign , # FamilyHealthHistoryMatters , we hope that more Malaysians will be aware of the need to know their health history .”

Khor Xin Yun , Chief Executive Officer of NKF echoed Derrick ’ s sentiments and was grateful for the partnership . “ We would like to thank all participants for their contributions and support for this event .

“ Currently , we have approximately 1,700 dialysis patients receiving subsidised treatments in 29 dialysis centres nationwide , with the numbers growing annually . The funds we receive will help our patients ’ treatment and recovery process . Your trust and continued support inspire us to carry on what we do best , and we hope to educate the public to take care of their kidneys and overall health .”

The treasure hunt is part of SMCV ’ s 3rd-anniversary campaign , with the hospital placing a focus on the importance of knowing one ’ s family health history through the

# FamilyHealthHistoryMatters campaign . With the success of SMCV ’ s first treasure hunt event , the hospital has plans to carry out more community-centric activities within the vicinity to continue its mission of providing quality and accessible healthcare to all . – The Health

WITH THE rubber gloves industry seeing competition and drop in demand , Hartalega Holdings Berhad said it was looking to mergers and acquisitions ( M & A ).

It said the diversification would reduce concentration risks , maintain a healthy cash cow , and invest in the company ’ s future growth . Hartelega manufactures gloves at its factories in Selangor .

The company has a healthy balance sheet and strong war chest to support key long-term business objectives moving forward ,” it said recently in a corporate presentation .

Its strategic initiatives include being an original brand manufacturer ( OBM ) focusing on the Asia Pacific market . Hartalega has a current annual glove production capacity of 44 billion pieces and that its targeted production capacity is 95 billion pieces of gloves annually .

The company also announced that it has slowed down its Next Generation Integrated Glove Manufacturing Complex ( NGC ) 1.5 plant expansion due to the oversupply of gloves in the market .

Hartalega CEO Kuan Mun Leong said the company was phasing down its plant expansion plan in view of demand-supply imbalances as buyers are still adjusting their inventory levels .

“ We do not want to commission and push up the lines because of oversupply . The expansion started

AS PART of Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg ’ s vision to integrate technology into the state ’ s healthcare system , a new hospital will soon be added to Normah Medical Specialist Centre ( NMSC ). The new hospital structure will be fully furnished with modern amenities .

“ We are getting specialists to help us in terms of how the building should be constructed and what are the IT facilities and best medical equipment that must be equipped in that building ,” shared Abang Johari with The Borneo Post when officiating at the launch of NMSC ’ s new CT scanner , hightech cardiac catheterisation system , and MRI scanner at the hospital .

Following a recent trip to Italy , where he observed interactions between medical professionals from Italy and the US using augmented reality and virtual reality to treat patients , Abang Johari declared his idea to alter NMSC was inspired .

“ They used virtual reality to spot where diseases are and to find solutions to problems faced by patients .

“ That is why I believe in technology in medical care , and I ’ m pleased to inform you that we want to transform Normah that way ,” he added .

Abang Johari also disclosed that a hotel would be built next to the new NMSC structure to house patients , their families , and anyone else travelling with them . According to the Premier earlier in his speech , the Sarawak government would increasingly integrate NSMC with artificial intelligence ( AI )

last year and we have deferred it a couple of times . During the pandemic ’ s peak , there were a lot of panic buying and over purchases . I think the market needs time to digest all these over purchases , and we are looking at the end of the year , maybe even the first quarter next year ,” he had said at Hartalega ’ s annual general meeting on Sept 1 .

NGC 1.5 comprises four plants with 48 lines in total that will produce approximately 396,000 pieces of gloves per annum per line . Kuan said the average selling price ( ASP ) has bottomed out .

On competition from China , Kuan said : “ We look upon the Malaysian government to provide a conducive business environment for the glove sector to compete with other countries , as well as businessfriendly policies . For example , for gloves , it ’ s energy cost and wages .”

Although Malaysian glove products still dominate 51 per cent of the world market , the rapid expansion by Chinese manufacturers could threaten Malaysian glove manufacturers .

China accounts for about 20 per cent of global capacity but has an advantage in terms of energy cost over Malaysia because they use coal to generate electricity ,” he said , adding that Hartalega will remain focused on cost optimisation and automation in the face of stiff competition in the market . – The Health

system that might improve healthcare for everyone by boosting efficacy .

According to him , the state ’ s current healthcare system was designed to treat those who already had health problems and would treat them following their symptoms . Abang Johari said AI should be implemented into hospital medical services and management because it could provide precise data , assist in quickly recording data , and protect internal medical-legal issues . He saw AI as the future of medical growth .

Present were the NMSC managing director and chief executive officer , Dato Dr Au Yong Kien Hoe , State Secretary Dato Sri Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki , and Deputy Premier Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian . – The Health