KUALA LUMPUR: The lack of participation in community screening has hampered efforts to ascertain the actual burden of Covid-19 and other widespread illnesses on the healthcare system, says Khairy Jamaluddin.

       The Health Minister said over one million Malaysians who are eligible for free health screening under the PeKa B40 (healthcare for the B40 group) programme failed to take advantage of it.

       “Under the Health Ministry, we provide free health screening to those in the B40, those aged 40 and above, and Bantuan Sara Hidup recipients, but over one million did not take the opportunity to get the screening.

       “Maybe awareness is still low, (but) they didn’t even go for the most basic screening, so when we face this sort of situation (the Covid-19 pandemic), we don't know the actual burden on our healthcare system.

       “We only know when they fall sick, most diabetes patients don't know that they have the illness until it is too late. It is the same with cancer,” he said in a speech during a meeting with cancer patients at a restaurant here Friday (March 11).

       The event was held in conjunction with World Cancer Day which was on Feb 4.