Dr Sim bemoaned that after 60 years of Malaysia’s formation, there were those who still did not understand the situation in Sarawak as well as Sabah. — Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING (Aug 4): Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian has suggested that permanent posts for doctors in Sarawak be offered to those already serving in the state or Sarawakians still waiting for an offer.
In his latest rebuke against doctors who have rejected contract positions in Sarawak, the Deputy Premier bemoaned that after 60 years of Malaysia’s formation, there were those who still did not understand the situation in Sarawak as well as Sabah.
“After 60 years of Malaysia, Sabah and Sarawak still need to catch up to the same level of medical care, healthcare, and hospital facilities like West Malaysia. Or rather for the last 60 years, the rest of Malaysia at the expense of Sabah and Sarawak?” he said in a Facebook post.
In the post, Dr Sim shared a report by CodeBlue, a news site specialising in healthcare, under the heading ‘Borneo Gains At Klang Valley’s Expense In Permanent Doctors’ Placements’.
“The current criteria of Ministry of Health Malaysia based on population is not suitable for Sarawak due to geographical size and population density,” he said.
Dr Sim pointed out that the doctor to patient ratio in Sarawak in 2019 was one doctor to 682 people whereas in Peninsular Malaysia that year it was one doctor to 454 people, and this meant that there were fewer doctors and the people had to travel longer distances to reach a doctor.
“Since it is considered a headache or unfair for West Malaysia, please support Sarawak Healthcare autonomy. Let us take away your headache or unfairness,” he said, revealing that he had been in touch with the Health director-general Datuk Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan.
“… perhaps for those whose heart is not to serve the calling of the medical profession, unwilling to come to Sarawak, the permanent post should be offered to those who are already serving in Sarawak or Sarawakians who are still waiting for permanent posts or coming home to serve in Sarawak,” he suggested.
On July 18, Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni revealed more than 200 doctors offered contract positions to serve in Sarawak have either turned down the offer or failed to report to work.
He said they were among the 800 doctors who had been offered contract positions by the Ministry of Health (MoH), and he urged the holdouts to accept their postings in the state.
Following the revelation, Dr Sim lashed out at the doctors who rejected the posts, telling them that they should not be doctors in the first place, reminding them of the Hippocratic Oath to serve the people.
CodeBlue, in its report on July 31, said Borneo was the primary beneficiary of MoH’s nationwide relocation exercise of contract medical officers for permanent positions this year, gaining a whopping net total of 1,070 doctors.
The permanent appointments took effect on July 31.
It said Sabah and Sarawak each gained 551 and 519 medical officers respectively, while the Klang Valley suffered a net loss of 360 doctors, which threatened to worsen the already critical staffing shortages in the public healthcare sector in the industrial region.
Breaking down a chart showing permanent medical officer placements by state in 2023, the report said: “Borneo’s 1,276 doctors comprised about 31 per cent of the total 4,149 medical officers who obtained placements this year for permanent appointments, even though the combined population of Sabah and Sarawak is 18 per cent of Malaysia’s 32.4 million population.
“The MoH’s relocation of more than 4,100 medical officers in a bid to optimise healthcare professional distribution, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak, has sparked serious concerns among doctors, who warned that the move could put patient safety at risk as major hospitals in the Klang Valley, Melaka, and Negeri Sembilan cope with chronic understaffing and staff burnout.”