SAPP vice-president Gee Tien Siong said that 999 calls from Sabah at present are connected directly to the Malaysian Emergency Response System in Kuala Lumpur before being handed over to the Sabah authorities.

“This is an absurd situation, as if the lives of Sabahans are not important,” he said in a statement today in the wake of the death of accident victim Lew Kok Fai, 54, in Kolombong, recently.

He said the party’s deputy president Edward Dagul had made a recommendation last year for emergency calls not to be diverted to Kuala Lumpur. He said the process was impractical and slow.

“If the authorities fail to prioritise the lives of the people, SAPP will take further political and legal action to force the authorities to have an efficient local emergency call centre run by Sabahans familiar with the local geographical location,” he said.

Earlier today, the Sabah health department said an emergency call about the accident had been cut off while being diverted to Queen Elizabeth II Hospital. Not enough details were provided and the caller could not be contacted in six attempts. An ambulance could be sent only when a second caller provided enough details, the department said.