When the National Disease Registry (NDR) reported in December last year stating that Malays are the unhealthiest in Singapore, it drew a backlash from some people in the community.
“If a certain issue is indeed worrying and needs immediate attention/solution, why would identifying a certain enthic/community make any difference?” said Facebook user Zulkifli Yusof.
According to the NDR report, Malays are more likely to suffer from a stroke, undergo kidney transplants or go through dialysis.
On Thursday, the Health Promotion Board announced nation-wide efforts stepped up to promote healthy lifestyle, with tailored programmes for the Malay community.
These programmes consist of establishing health-promoted madrasahs, running the Ramadan “I Quit” smoking cessation campaign, distributing health calendars – consisting of healthy recipes and tips – to Malay families and organising healthy living programmes at mosques.
During a visit to Al-Ma’arif Al-Islamiyah, one of the participating madrasahs, on Thursday, Associate Professor Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim and parliamentary secretary for the Ministry of Health responded to the reactions.
He said he has seen positive response on the programmes from madrasah teachers, students and people who go to mosques.
“The fact that they feel for it means that they are quite committed to their healthy habits and lifestyle.”
“I feel that those among the (Malay) community who have embraced it (healthy living) are doing their best to eat healthily.”
There are currently three madrasahs actively promoting healthy living in Singapore: Al Ma’arif Al-Islamiyah, Irsyad Zuhri Al-Islamiyah and Wak Tanjung Al-Islamiyah. HPB plans to extend the initiative to three more.
These madrasahs now have health programmes permanently fitted into their school curriculum; some of these include health workshops and a student health ambassador-training programme. There are a total of 107 student health ambassadors across the three madrasahs, and their roles include leading health workshops.
These health workshops are designed to educate students on being mentally and physically healthy. Student ambassadors will hold talks sharing tips on maintaining a balanced diet, healthy stress levels and good self-esteem.
Faishal said that he is happy with the progress of the programmes, noting that at least 1,800 madrasah students have benefited from them.
The principal of Al-Ma’arif Al-Islamiyah, Sukarti Asmoin, 61, welcomes the new initiatives as part of the school curriculum. Speaking in Malay, she says she feels that it is important to keep the students healthy so that they will not fall sick.
It is also encouraged in the religion to maintain good health, which is linked to having a healthy mind, she added.
The school has also changed the food served in the school. For example, the canteen vendors are only allowed to sell fried foods on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Other plans
For the wider Malay community, HPB aims to recruit 2,000 smokers for the 2015 edition of Ramadan “I Quit” 28-day programme. There were 1,500 sign-ups in 2014.
They also plan to increase health-screening sessions and venues — from six to 10 mosques.
The school has also changed the food served in the school. For example, the canteen vendors are only allowed to sell fried foods on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Source: https://sg.news.yahoo.com
