Proposed University of Technology S’wak medical faculty to ease State’s shortage of doctors

Dr Annuar (fourth right) receiving the report from Dr Lela during the handover ceremony in Sibu on July 2, 2026. Source: TVS

By DayakDaily Team

SIBU, July 3: The University of Technology Sarawak (UTS) plans to establish a medical faculty to tackle the shortage of doctors in the State, as well as specialists in several critical fields.

In a TVS news report, this followed UTS receiving the Feasibility Study Report on the Establishment of an Undergraduate Medical Programme, which marked the first step towards setting up a medical faculty at the university.

According to UTS Board of Directors chairman Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee, the report will serve as the foundation for the next phase before the proposal to establish the faculty is submitted to the Sarawak Government for consideration.

“Following the receipt of this report on behalf of UTS, the study findings will be presented to the Sarawak Ministry of Education, Innovation, and Talent Development (MEITD) for review before being submitted to the State government for consideration and approval.

“This is a very important first step in our efforts to establish Sarawak’s own medical faculty. Only after that will we know whether the State government agrees to the establishment of this faculty,” he said during the handover ceremony of the study report here on Thursday (July 2).

Dr Annuar, who is also the Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation, and Talent Development stressed that the establishment of Sarawak’s own medical faculty is crucial as Sarawak continues to face a shortage of about 2,000 doctors, as well as specialists.

He said although the training of doctors and specialists is ongoing, the number returning to serve in Sarawak remains insufficient.

He added that if the proposal is approved by the State government, UTS will become the first local university in Sarawak to offer a medical programme.

He also expressed his appreciation to the study committee, led by Professor Dr Lela Suut from the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), for completing the 173-page report after six months of detailed research.

Meanwhile, he said UTS has also held discussions with four of the world’s leading medical institutions—the University of Dundee, University College London, the University of Cambridge, and the National University of Singapore—as strategic partners to help develop the programme.

He said all four institutions had responded positively to the discussions, and their feedback was also included in the feasibility study report. — DayakDaily