KUCHING: The federal government has been urged to close what a critical protection gap for healthcare workers following the Long Lellang Flying Doctor Service (FDS) helicopter tragedy that claimed five lives in Sarawak.
The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) said healthcare workers serving on domestic air, land and sea missions should receive automatic government-funded accident insurance.
Its president Datuk Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo said doctors, nurses, assistant medical officers and other frontline personnel deployed on official healthcare missions do not appear to receive the same dedicated travel and personal accident insurance provided to public officers travelling overseas on official duty.
“This is a policy gap that must be closed immediately,” he said in a statement issued today.
The Long Lellang crash claimed the lives of pilot Capt Zainol Afiq Bee Sham, medical officer Dr Ainul Baraah Kamaruddin, assistant medical officer Alexson Adit Henry, and staff nurses Debra Moset and Jessie Paya Jok while delivering essential medical services to interior communities.
Dr Thirunavukarasu said the tragedy highlighted the risks routinely faced by healthcare workers travelling by helicopter, ambulance and boat to reach patients in remote and difficult terrain.
He noted that the existing RM30 Air Health Service incentive, introduced in 1978, has remained unchanged for nearly five decades and should not be mistaken for meaningful protection.
“The RM30 incentive is not insurance and cannot compensate for death or permanent disability,” he said.
The MMA is urging the government to introduce mandatory, government-funded personal accident and travel insurance covering all healthcare personnel undertaking official duties by air, land or sea, including disaster response, humanitarian assistance and mercy missions.
The proposed protection, the association said, should apply equally to permanent staff, contract employees and personnel engaged through appointed service operators.
Beyond insurance, the MMA also called for greater clarity on compensation available to bereaved families.
Dr Thirunavukarasu welcomed the sarawak government’s announcement of RM100,000 in financial assistance for each affected family and its commitment to support the education of their school-going children.
However, he stressed that federal compensation and employment benefits must be provided separately, promptly and without forcing grieving families through lengthy or complicated claims procedures.
“Families who have lost loved ones in the line of duty should not have to navigate a complex administrative process during their time of grief,” he said.
The association also urged the government to comprehensively review the Ex-Gratia Bencana Kerja scheme to determine whether it provides adequate and equitable protection for personnel performing hazardous duties across different employment categories.
Dr Thirunavukarasu said increasing allowances alone would not make dangerous missions safer.
“Insurance, proper training, safe transportation and employer accountability must form part of one comprehensive protection framework,” he said.
He added that the Long Lellang tragedy should become a catalyst for lasting reform rather than a temporary response driven by public sympathy.
“Those sent to save lives must never be asked to surrender their own protection as a condition of service,” he said, urging the government to ensure healthcare workers receive the protection they deserve before the next emergency mission begins.
