KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 – Ipoh Timor MP Howard Lee Chuan How is urging the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Cooperatives Development (MECD) to allocate funds specifically for social enterprises that provide mobile care units for wound care services at home.
In the Budget 2023 announced last month, MECD received a total allocation of RM732.35 million, with 71 per cent of the budget going towards development expenditure.
Lee said despite a significant year-on-year increase of RM65 million in MECD’s development expenditure, rising from RM355.83 million to RM520.21 million, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s budget speech did not mention or allocate any funds towards social enterprise.
“The additional RM65 million should have been given to entrepreneurs out there who have expertise and want to invest in capex to create mobile care units to be delivered to patients’ homes for wound care,” the government backbencher said in his debate on the entrepreneurship ministry budget in Parliament today.
“Is this matter or allocation available at the Ministry of Health? No. We know there is no allocation there because there are more urgent matters, but we can harness the expertise and determination to deliver such services from those outside.
“But this requires a little investment by MECD, if possible, with the help of INSKEN, SMECorp, SME Bank, to provide capital expenditure assistance to purchase or obtain mobile care units in the field,” Howard said.
The Ipoh Timor MP has initiated pilot wound care projects in his constituency in the state of Perak. Lee previously cited unofficial statistics that suggested up to 60 per cent or 70 per cent of all episodes in public health clinics or primary care are wound care cases.
