'no lift day’ KEMPEN JOM NAIK TANGGA

Health Ministry to introduce ‘no lift day’

PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry will be introducing a “no lift day”, whereby staff members from the minis­try’s complexes, hospitals and health departments will have to take the stairs to their offices, even if they are located on the 10th floor of the building.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the “no lift day” was meant to promote a healthy lifestyle.

“On the ‘no lift day’, everyone will have to use the stairs.

As we are promoting healthy lifestyles, it is only right that we take the lead and set an example,” he said.

Liow said that the campaign would be held on a weekly basis and it could start after the fasting month.

The ministry, he said, would also start rewarding employees who did not take sick leave by giving out certificates of appreciation on a yearly basis.

“We are also considering sending them for job-related short-term courses to increase their productivity,” he said after presenting the ministry’s excellence service awards here yesterday.

Liow had earlier this week suggested that employers reward employees who remained fit, saying that the incentive-based system was to encourage Malaysians to adopt healthy lifestyles.

At the award presentation ceremony, Liow also launched the ministry’s Merdeka celebration programmes, which include sending greeting cards to babies born in August.

In a related development, Health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman said that the “no lift day” would be implemented wherever applicable.
“This is because some places in the districts have no lifts,” he said.

He added that no exemption would be given unless it was for medical reasons and if an employee produced a doctor’s letter.

Dr Hasan said that currently, some of the lifts at the ministry’s disease control and engineering departments had been shut down to encourage staff members to take the stairs instead.

Source: thestar