The Sungai Ara Community Ambulance said it had continued to receive SOS calls for emergency care even today, with callers finding the 999 hotline out of service.

“We are disappointed to see the joint statement claiming the incident was isolated. It does not reflect the reality on the ground.

“As part of an NGO that is on the frontlines, we want to say that this is not an isolated incident, and (outages) are still being reported as of 6pm today,” it said in a statement.

It cited a case involving a senior citizen with breathing problems who called 999 at 4.28pm but could not get through. An NGO ambulance later sped to him after receiving a direct alert at 6pm.

“It must be stressed that calls to the new 999 hotline for ambulance services is a matter of life and death and cannot be treated lightly,” it added.

The group said those in distress in Penang could call its hotline at 01110510991.

Earlier today, the health and communications ministries as well as Telekom Malaysia said recent issues with the NG MERS 999 system were isolated and that the platform was running as normal.

This came after FMT reported that community ambulances and volunteer units had seen an uptick in emergency calls from people claiming that 999 was not working.

FMT has contacted TM for comment.