James poses for a photo with participants, organisers and volunteers
KOTA KINABALU: The SEPEDA Amal Borneo 2025 Fundraiser “Pedal for Care, Ride for Hope”, came to an end on Friday as 17 cyclists completed the excruciating 600km journey from Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu.
The charity cycling event, which aims to raise funds for the establishment of Sabah’s first children’s hospice under the Malaysian Association of Pediatric Palliative Care (MAPPAC), saw a multinational line-up of cyclists braving the heat wave and tough road conditions from Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu, via Paitan, Kota Marudu, Ranau and Tambunan, with a total elevation of more than 6000m over a six day period.
The Minister of Community Development and People’s Wellbeing of Sabah, YB Datuk James Ratib officiated the closing ceremony of the event at Hilton Hotel Kota KInabalu.
In his speech, he congratulated all the cyclists for their dedication and effort in not only raising funds for Sabah’s first children’s hospice, but also in raising awareness for the field of pediatric palliative care, which is not a well known, but crucial specialty in a holistic healthcare system.
According to him, currently only the Sabah Women and Children’s Hospital in Likas offers pediatric palliative care, which has seen a gradual increase in patient load for the past few years.
He implored the Ministry of Health of Malaysia to look into increasing the pediatric palliative care services by training more doctors and nurses for this role.
James emphasized the importance of the state government’s support in establishing the first children’s hospice in Sabah as well as cooperation with other relevant agencies to achieve this goal.
Since its inception, SEPEDA Amal Borneo has raised more than RM950,000 for medical and social causes.
This year’s RM200,000 proceeds will support MCH Kota Kinabalu in providing free pediatric palliative care services, including home care, pain management, psychosocial support, and family accompaniment programs—ensuring that no child with life-limiting conditions journeys alone.
To further advance this cause, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), as organizer of SEPEDA Amal Borneo 2025, hosted a special charity dinner.
The dinner aimed to enhance fundraising efforts and increase public awareness of pediatric palliative care, a vital but under-recognized component of healthcare.
Chairman of MMA Sabah, Dr Brandon Patrick Senagang, expressed optimism for the continued support.
“Fundraising is ongoing, and we hope more individuals and corporations will come forward to help provide compassionate and dignified support for children and their families,” he said.
Meanwhile James thanked the MMA for inviting him to officiate the Closing Ceremony of SEPEDA Amal Borneo 2025.
“I understand that this is the fourth year that the SEPEDA Amal Borneo program has been held by MMA. This meaningful program is held to raise funds and awareness for a charity in Malaysia.
“This year, I understand that the selected charity is MAPPAC, which is an Association that provides palliative services to children with various types of chronic diseases that limit their life expectancy.
“As the Sabah State Health Exco, I am of the view that children’s palliative services are very important and need to continue to be prioritised in a holistic health system.
James added that last week’s newspaper reported that in Malaysia, there are only six children’s palliative specialists serving in the Malaysian Ministry of Health where it is estimated that there are nine million children who need these services.
In Sabah, he said, children’s palliative services are only provided at the Sabah Women and Children’s Hospital, Kota Kinabalu.
“We see that the number of children under the palliative unit is increasing where last year alone, more than 100 new children were referred to the palliative unit in Likas.
“We can see that the expertise in this service is very lacking and I hope that the Ministry of Health will take note of the issue and train more doctors in this specialty and also provide more funds to develop the field of children’s palliative care.
“I would also like to call on the Ministry of Health to provide more incentives to doctors serving in Sabah,” he said.
James who is also Sugut Assemblyman added that Sabah faces a unique challenge where children living in rural areas may not have access to palliative services like this which are only limited to urban areas.
According to him, these people usually come from poor communities.
“Therefore, I am very interested in MAPPAC’s vision of establishing the first children’s hospice in Sabah.
“With this hospice, palliative services can be provided in a complete facility, regardless of the patient’s background. With the hospice facility, patients do not need to travel back and forth to the hospital to receive treatment,” he said.
As the Sabah State Health Ekso, he fully supports the initiative to establish Sabah’s first children’s hospice and I will strive to make this dream a reality in the near future.
“This is my commitment to our children who really need our help.
“I hope and call on the Federal Government, under the Ministry of Health Malaysia, to work with the Sabah State Government to establish this children’s hospice. I request the Ministry of Health to channel funds for this purpose,” he said.
Also present were President, Malaysia Medical Association Dato Dr Kalwinder Singh Khaira, President Elect, Malaysia Medical Association Dr Thirukanavarasu Rajoo, Founder of SEPEDA Amal Borneo Dr Timothy Cheng Tsin Jien, Deputy Chairman, Malaysia Association of Paediatric Palliative Care (MAPPAC) Dr Ng Su Fang, among others.
