300 equipment showcase at North Borneo Classic Medical Assets Exhibition
KOTA KINABALU: The North Borneo Classic Medical Assets Exhibition will showcase almost 300 assets at the State Museum, creating a unique fusion of medical and tourism sectors.
Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun said the exhibition is likely to draw in more tourists due to its one-of-a-kind factor in displaying some of the first and rarest medical pieces of equipment in Sabah.
“Sabah was one of the first states to use modern medical equipment in the past; in terms of domestic tourism, this could attract internal tourists to come and conduct researches in Sabah.”
A total of 287 classic medical and non-medical assets from health facilities under the State Health Department would be displayed in the one-month exhibition which includes staff uniforms and historical photos among others.
The number of assets included 35 pieces of equipment which were donated to the State Museum.
“It could also be utilised for education purposes which are among the fields that we could explore with this equipment that has been used before and after Malaysia was founded; these are certainly valuable assets that need to be preserved.”
His speech was delivered by permanent secretary to the Ministry, Datu Rosmadi Datu Sulai.
According to him, Sabah recorded 3.68 million tourists last year, generating RM7.8 billion and for the first two months this year, some 618,000 tourists have visited Sabah, bringing in RM1.38 million.
The museum, he said, is a must for tourists in any country as it tells the history of a nation and civilisation, underlining the importance of preserving artefacts that are of high sentimental and historical values.
“With the advancement of technology, we sometimes forget how fast things change. This equipment had once faced evolution through the innovation and creative minds of its creators.
“They still have high value in museum context as each valuable item must have its own beginning; hence, the evolution needs to be exhibited for the current and future generation.”
As part of historical preservation, he stated that the ministry is in the process of completing paperwork for the cabinet to gazette the Queen Elizabeth Hospital building as the state’s heritage building, making Sabah the first in Malaysia to take such action.
“We will gazette it as a heritage building which will be an added value to tourism sector as well as to the credibility of the State Health Department as the state’s medical leader.”
The ceremony also saw the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between State Health Department director Datuk Dr. Christina Rundi and State Museum director Mansur Asun.
Christina in her speech explained among the equipment that was put on display was the Resuscitator and Sphygmomanometer which came from the 1950s.
“The Stephenson Minuteman Resuscitator came from England and was used around 1950s to 1960s. It was used to provide breathing assistance in cases of emergency at Beaufort Hospital operation theatre during British colonisation.
“The Sphygmomanometer, on the other hand, was produced by Accoson from England; used in the 1950s to 1960s, it was meant to monitor patients’ blood pressure at Beaufort Hospital Outpatient Unit.”
Other equipment, she said, was a hydraulic operating table from 1960-1980s created by Eschman Bros & Walsh from England used for surgical procedures at Ranau Hospital which was manually adjusted by medical officers at the time.
Another asset was a classic inhaler by Dr. Nelson which came from Switzerland that was made of glass and ceramic to provide treatment for patients with chronic breathing difficulties at Lahad Datu Hospital.
“The concept of this exhibition is through real medical and treatment wards to ensure each visitor could feel as though they were in actual classic medical wards at the time,” said Christina. – By DK Ryni Qareena
Source: New Sabah Times
