My health screening experience at Ketereh, Kelantan

Just spent the last 3 days in Kota Bahru, Kelantan. I've always wanted to go to Kota Bahru and finally, two nights ago I landed at Kota Bahru airport with two of my work colleagues. We took a cab to the city centre and checked in at Renaissance Kota Bahru.

There is something special about staying in a hotel. For me, it brings back sweet memories of childhood when my dad used to bring us along during his meeting trips around Malaysia. As a young child, it was exciting to stay in a hotel even if it means just watching TV inside the hotel room. I felt nostalgic and slightly pampered.

At the same time it made me feel sad to think about other children who may not have had the luxury of growing up in comfort. The path of lives for different people will be different but whatever our situation, rich or poor, this life is a test for everyone. I remembered my boss telling me that the more we have, it is more of a test for us because the person who has more, will have more to answer for on the day of judgment compared to a person who has nothing.

The next morning, we set off by cab to Ketereh where our health screening programme was held. It was a sharp turn on to a narrow kampung road, surrounded by trees everywhere going deeper into the wilderness until all of a sudden, there was a compound with buildings in front of us. In the middle of nowhere stood Rukun tetangga Hall but everyone around the area seem to be aware of its existence because we were greeted by a hall full of people waiting to get their bloods taken and blood pressure checked. Our health screening programme looks at cardiovascular risk factors mainly in the elderly but some in their 30s and 40s also joined in.

We went straight to work and my job was to take blood, review patients with hypertension and abnormal ECGs. It was rather scary to find many patients with undiagnosed high blood pressure or those who defaulted on treatment. Some even had evidence of undiagnosed previous myocardial injury from their ECG. Since we were only there to screen them so, I could only advice the patients and refer them to the nearest specialist centre. Most were stable and were happy walking around holding a referral letter.

After a hard day's work, we went shopping at Pasar Cik Fatimah and I could have bought the whole material shop. We had to drag ourselves away and ended up at KB Mall. We had some cake at Secret Recipe and walked 5000 steps back to the hotel, burning the extra calories consumed.

I was exhausted and as soon as my head hits the pillow, I fell asleep.

The next day, we went to the same site and repeated our routine yesterday, taking blood and assessing patients. The Kelantanese are so friendly, so welcoming and so generous. The atmosphere of the village was peaceful and inviting.

The people from the village caught a 7 kilogram fish yesterday and today, we had the tastiest fish cooked in Tempoyak dish. I've never loved Tempoyak before but this one was amazing... it beats any cuisine by any well known chefs in Malaysia.

Then, my big big boss whom we call Dato' took us to Pak Teh Rimau's home. He's known as such because during his younger days he had an encounter with a tiger and has a deep scar on his right arm to prove it. He showed it to us proudly...but he is a completely generous and happy man with a smile that never left his face. Pak Teh Rimau lives on top of a pond and he rears fish. Today, they caught a 4 kilogram fish. We had this lady who just skinned the fish almost seemingly effortless and she put it in a box for Dato' to bring it back on the aeroplane to Kuala Lumpur.

For a moment, I felt like it was a comedy show. I was imagining one of Mr Bean's sketches where he's going through customs at the airport with a box. The custom officer opening the box and was aghast at a sight of a fish. The officer exclaimed "I beg your pardon sir but what have you got here?" and Mr Bean answered "A fish!"... of course that was my imagination, there's no such sketch. Well, at least not that I know of but the thought was hilarious...

Dato' then wanted to show us his hometown so, he took us to Chinese Town and then to Pantai Cahaya Bulan. We took some pictures and went on our way to the airport. I can confirm that Kelantan people are very generous, friendly and nice. Dato' was saying how people here live a simple life.

He says in the villages, people are almost self-sufficient. They do not consume a lot... everything is around them, fish, cows, chickens, vegetables, fruits and even paddy fields unlike the Western nations who are dependent on consumable products, on processed items and natural resources... yet, the West does not have a large supply of natural resources whereas these so called 'third world countries' are the ones that have the natural resources, the true richness.

However, the simple life of the people do not require these natural resources... and so, the Western nations they come and they extract from us. Just because the people do not require them, does not mean that they cannot use them for the benefit of the community.

I hate the idea of turning villages into cities... that in order to progress and develop, these areas have to adopt the Western lifestyle and build sky scrapers... I think it is perfectly fine for villages to remain the way they are and to maintain their own way of life, a simple happy life but what is important is the infrastructure for essential public use such as a decent health care system, well equipped hospitals and good health promotion, well equipped schools and libraries.

The Islamic state (Khilafah) was once very rich and the rich people used their wealth for the benefit of the community, they built schools, hospitals, libraries, guest houses and even universities. They used their wealth to help the poor, the needy and they invested their money in translating books, scholarships for young bright students, businesses and agriculture.

This is unlike the Capitalist system today that has made individual pursuit of happiness and profit the most important thing in life. People live to make money so they can buy the house, the car, the millionaire's lifestyle. Everything geared only towards fulfilling selfish needs. Yet, do we find happiness and tranquility in city centres?

Just spending 2 days in Ketereh made me appreciate the real things in life that are important. At one point I was standing there listening to the mooing of a cow, turning around to look at the pond with 1000 fish in it and glancing up to the skies to see the birds flying... that is happiness. When you can truly look around you and appreciate the Creation of Allah SWT, to be grateful with the little or the big things you have in life, to spend time with your friends and family. I wish I could hold on to that moment forever... like treasure it inside a little glass bowl and that I could look at it every so often and remind myself... what really matters.