Sarawak’s health autonomy push gains momentum, says Deputy Premier

KUCHING (Dec 3): Sarawak’s case for health autonomy is stronger than ever, as the state continues to shoulder increasing responsibilities in service delivery, infrastructure upgrades, and long-term healthcare planning, said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian.

The Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government said the state is intensifying its push for health autonomy under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), driven by persistent manpower shortages and major healthcare projects underway statewide.

“The Sarawak Health Department — an agency under the federal Ministry of Health — received RM2.96 billion in operating funds and RM505.3 million in development funds for 2025, which reflects the scale of the state’s needs.

“This marks an increase from the RM2.81 billion in operating funds and RM500.59 million in development allocations recorded earlier this year,” he said in his ministerial winding-up speech.

Dr Sim said despite these allocations, there is still a significant human resource gap.

“Currently, Sarawak has a total of 27,255 government healthcare personnel, including 1,838 serving on a contract basis, out of the 30,523 approved positions.

“Of the approved posts, there are 5,106 posts yet to be filled. The number of approved doctors posts that are still vacant is 930, while for nurses, there are 2,300 vacancies,” he said.

He said that compared to the national doctor to population ratio, Sarawak was short of 1,871 doctors.

On Sarawak’s major healthcare projects, Dr Sim said as of Oct 25 this year, the new Lawas Hospital project was at 95.86 per cent completion, while the Petra Jaya Hospital has received a deadline extension to February 2026 and stands at 84.99 per cent progress.

“To date, 65.9 per cent of health clinics in Sarawak are classified as dilapidated, showing an improvement from 76.4 per cent during the same period in 2024, after the Bitara Madani initiative since 2023,” he said.

He said the federal government has allocated RM100 million to strengthen basic infrastructure and clinical equipment, while another RM5.2 million are allocated for low-value assets and capital items for 2025.

As for the update of Sarawak Cancer Centre, Dr Sim said it remains in its pre-implementation phase, with construction scheduled from 2026 to 2031.

He said Sarawak’s complex healthcare demands, rapid development plans, and chronic manpower shortages reaffirm the need for delegated powers from the federal government.

This includes the authority to regulate private healthcare facilities through CKAPS, which is currently under review.

He also expressed gratitude to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof for spearheading a special task force involving the Finance Ministry, Economy Ministry, Public Service Department and other agencies — a move he described as “instrumental for Sarawak’s MA63 aspirations.”

In a significant administrative development, he shared that the Sarawak Medical Committee is expected to begin processing registration for medical practitioners seeking to serve in the state from January 2026, marking another step toward establishing Sarawak-specific health governance mechanisms.