KOTA KINABALU: Calls for Sabah to have an emergency call centre based in the state are intensifying following an incident where a man tragically died after suffering a heart attack as paramedics only responded an hour after a call was made.

       Parti Warisan secretary-general Datuk Loretto Padua said this could have been averted if the state had its own Malaysian Emergency Response Services (MERS-999) call centre, negating the need for calls to be routed to Kuala Lumpur first.

       Loretto said an emergency call centre in Sabah would significantly reduce the chances of responders being confused about the location as well as allow speedy follow-up action for those in need.

       He said a fire that killed a family of four in Kampung Hungab in Penampang near here in September 2021 should have been an eye-opener for the federal and Sabah governments.

       In the 2021 incident, firemen were late to respond to the scene after a call was made to the 999 number.

       On Wednesday (May 6), Lew Kok Fai, 54, from Ipoh, suffered a heart attack in his car in Kolombong and eventually died as paramedics only arrived an hour after a 999 emergency call was made.

       "Unfortunately, the same issue happened again because the MERS 999 call centre is in Kuala Lumpur," Loretto said in a statement on Saturday (May 7).

       "I really can't see the logic or the need behind this. Do we have to wait for another tragedy before action is taken?" he asked

       Loretto said the latest incident was an embarrassment to the state government as it appeared they were not able to manage the issue.

       He said Sabah should push for important matters such as this to be implemented right away instead of merely asking for the matter to be rectified.

       "Must Kuala Lumpur dictate and decide each matter in Sabah?" said Loretto.

       Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) vice-president Gee Tien Siong on Friday (May 6) urged for a MERS 999 call centre to be set up in Sabah, saying it did not make sense to route emergency calls to Kuala Lumpur before rerouting it back to the state for action.

       In the latest case, Sabah Health director Dr Rose Nani Mudin said the ambulance was unable to respond immediately to an emergency situation here as they were unable to obtain the exact location of the patient due to a dropped call.

       She said the call to MERS 999 was made at 12.06pm but was disconnected while being transferred from the MERS 999 regional centre to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital medical emergency centre (QEH MECC) here.

       She said the MERS 999 regional centre and QEH MECC made six attempts to contact the caller between 12.07pm and 12.19pm but that the latter was not reachable.

       Dr Rose said a second call was made to MERS 999 from another person at 1.01pm when more details were obtained.

       "A team from QEH was sent out at 1.04pm and arrived at the scene at 1.16pm.

       "On arriving, the team found that the 54-year-old had no signs of life and his death was confirmed by a medical officer," she said.