KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 — Malaysians can now visually check in on their elderly parents using new technologies such as video-conferencing apps on smartphones, which would then avert cases of senior citizens from falling ill without anyone knowing, nonagenarian Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
Dr Mahathir, a former prime minister and now aged 94, noted that most Covid-19 cases ending in death involve the elderly and those with existing chronic illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
He said some may not know that they are suffering from such illnesses such as diabetes, and would only find out when checks are conducted when they go to hospitals for other ailments.
“We have to take care of the senior citizens, be more careful, we can’t leave them at home, just one or two of them without others monitoring them. What we are afraid of is they fall ill and no one goes and helps them.
“So these senior citizens, we are aware they are more exposed, we have to pay more attention to them. And for this, we must have a record of where they are, their family should be together with senior citizens so early information can be provided,” he said in an online video interview broadcast “live” on his Facebook page today.
Dr Mahathir however acknowledged that some families may have just one or two elderly parents left at home with all their grown-up children having moved out and living separately at their own houses, but said this is where technology can come into play.
“Now we are more fortunate, we don’t just have telephones, we can see in the smartphones, we can ask how are you doing, are you sick, through the smartphones we can check every day.
“We use these new tools so we can always see the information that is required for these senior citizens, now through Zoom we can speak with the whole family, we can see 10, 20 persons in Zoom, we see whether they are ill or not,” he said, referring to the video-conferencing tool.
“All these tools are advanced and new, through such tools we can reduce the possibility of someone falling sick and it is not known by others,” he added.
In the same interview hosted by Sunway Velocity Medical Centre’s Dr Nurul Yaqeen Mohd Esa, Dr Mahathir was also asked by online users to comment on whether the rebuilding phase post-Covid-19 in the next two years will be the same as the rebuilding phase after World War II.
Dr Mahathir replied by saying that the rebuilding work now would be much different from the post-World War II era, describing Covid-19 as an unprecedented pandemic that is so easily infectious to the point the whole world is affected, while also highlighting the advances in technology today.
Again highlighting the advanced technology that enables long-distance communications using smartphones where humans can see others via screens in such a small tool, Dr Mahathir said those who fail to master the use of technology will be left behind.
As for Malaysia’s involvement in global research to find a vaccine for Covid-19, Dr Mahathir said Malaysia has the capabilities to produce vaccines and should join up with scientists worldwide in such efforts to either produce or be involved in trials for potential vaccines.
Dr Mahathir noted however that a vaccine for Covid-19 would take many months including testing for effectiveness and safety, expecting that the Covid-19 outbreak would carry on for quite long and that it would not be possible to pinpoint a time when Malaysia should end its movement control order.
Earlier this month, Malaysia started its participation in an international effort launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to test several drugs for the treatment of Covid-19.
