High incidence of diabetes in Kelantan

KOTA BHARU: The Kelantaneses' fondness for sweet food is blamed for the high number of diabetes cases reported last year.

State women and family development and health committee chairman Wan Ubaidah Omar told Kelantan assembly yesterday there were 25,500 diabetes sufferers with 4,038 new cases detected last year.

In Kelantan, diabetes topped the list of chronic illness followed by heart attack, asthma and high blood pressure.

"The state government had raised the allocation for aid given to those suffering from chronic diseases from RM250,000 to RM1 million,” she said in replying to Mohamad Awang (PAS-Gual Periuk).

Speaking to reporters afterwards, she said it was an uphill battle to persuade the public to reduce their sugar intake as the people were so fond of sweet food and desserts.

"It is normal for the local here to eat heavy meals like rice in the morning and take traditional kuih such as `akok' and `tepung pelita'.

"They refused to change their diets until they start showing signs of diabetes and this led to the rise in cases," she said.

Wan Ubaidah said the rural folk form the majority of the sufferers as they still practise the traditional diet.

She said the state government had tried without any success in organising campaigns to promote the change in lifestyle.

Meanwhile, state human development, youths, sports and NGOs committee chairman Datuk Abdul Fattah Mahmood said the state government would not recognise several Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) including Jati, led by former Selangor PAS chief Datuk Dr Hasan Ali, as they were set up to promote personal gains.

He accused them of being parasites and said they would only work together with NGO’s which can help and benefit by being their close friends.

"We will not co-operate with this kind of NGO’s which have ‘unclear' direction and we doubt that they can be useful to the society," he told the state assembly.

By: NST 5.03.2012