KUCHING: The Sarawak St John Ambulance chairman and commander Datuk Seri Ang Lai Soon has appealed to the federal government to make Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training compulsory.
He said that Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) had responded recently by holding a CPR session for a record breaking number of people.
“I have been actively campaigning and promoting for CPR training to be made compulsory in schools and institutions of higher learning not only in Malaysia, but well beyond the shores of this country in the last few years.
“At present not many of us have received any first aid training; few have a first aid certificate. Fewer still have any knowledge of or trained in life-saving CPR skill, ”he said in a statement here yesterday.
He thanked Prime Minister Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed for advising all to learn First Aid at the Asia Pacific Regional Youth First Aid Competition Presentation Ceremony in Klang, Selangor on July 20, adding that CPT training should also be considered.
Ang had reiterated his appeal to the federal government to make CPR a compulsory subject in schools and institutions of higher learning at the St. John Ambulance Sarawak’s First Aid and Nursing Competition on June 23.
The previous government had agreed and fully supported this non-political proposal, he said.
He said that CPR training was all the more important especially for rural schools or along the coastal areas where, even if a clinic could be found, they might not even have a resident doctor.
“We, in St John Ambulance Sarawak, have already offered to train students and the public in CPR and responses have been good,” he added. — Bernama