Verdon Bahanda (Ind-Kudat) said some of the islanders were forced to pay between RM400 and RM600 to charter boats to get to the nearest government clinic in Pitas, which is about 30km away.

In some instances, those living on the islands were forced to travel quite a distance just to get a few strips of Panadol from the clinic, he said.

“It feels like (we are living in) pre-Merdeka times.

“The health ministry must set-up rural health clinics on the islands of Tigabu, Tanjung Malawali, Balambangan and Banggi,” he said when debating the 2023 budget for the healthcare sector.

Meanwhile, Suhaili Abdul Rahman (PN-Labuan) said he was upset with the state of the Labuan Nucleus Hospital which he said was so overcrowded that patients were forced to wait outside under a tattered canopy for hours.

He claimed only one medical officer (MO) was serving the hospital when he conducted a spot check, while another health official told him that many MOs had quit the government service.

Patients were now forced to head to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu (KK) for follow-up.

“And those going to KK are fishermen and farmers, whose lives are tough and who suffer from chronic illnesses. This has been going on for 38 years, when will the Labuan Nucleus Hospital be upgraded?”