KUCHING, Sept 12: Make annual employee medical checkups part and parcel of living a healthy lifestyle, says Minister of Women, Childhood and Community Wellbeing Development Dato Sri Fatimah Abdullah.
According to Fatimah, currently, the common practice is either the employee takes annual leave to go for the checkup or employers allow employees to go for medical checkups and come back to work once completed.
“But there are some employees who do not do a yearly medical checkup at all. They do a checkup only when they are sick.
“This is also true for other members in the community,” said Fatimah in a statement today.
She was commenting on Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin’s recent proposal that employees should be given additional leave to undergo health screenings.
Khairy said cooperation from public and private sector employers is crucial to ensure that their employees undergo health screenings.
Fatimah also pointed out that Malaysia is facing a situation where it is becoming an ageing society.
She said it is imperative for younger citizens to embrace healthy lifestyles with annual medical examinations embedded.
“We reap what we sowed earlier. Prevention, early intervention strategies following medical examinations will help to lengthen the years and reduce serious sicknesses in the later stage of our lives,” she said. — DayakDaily
