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By Jacob Achoi
SERIAN, Aug 4: Fifty medical doctors from Peninsular Malaysia have rejected the offer for permanent employment in Sarawak, said Deputy Health Minister Lukisman Awang Sauni.
He said the figure was derived from the total of 619 doctors who have been offered permanent placements at various clinics in Sarawak.
“For a permanent placement at the various clinics and hospitals in Sarawak, the Health Ministry has offered 619 posts including medical officers (MOs), and while 395 have accepted the offer and reported for duty, 50 have rejected the offer and the government is currently monitoring the situation,” Lukisman told reporters today during a working visit to Type 3 Siburan Health Clinic.
He added that among the reasons why West Malaysians medical doctors rejected the offer were accommodation and other facilities, which the government was consistently monitoring.
Lukisman, who earlier visited Type 3 Serian Health Clinic, said he received positive feedback from the 17 doctors who have been posted to Serian Hospital and other clinics.
He also said Serian Health Clinic, which is 76 per cent completed, will be fully operational by the first quarter of next year.
On the Siburan Health Clinic, he said it will be fully completed this October and operational next year.
According to him, the project which began in 2018 was facing delays due to a shortage of workers due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He also said the delay was due to the electricity supply to the premises, which was based on Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) specifications.
“For the project (Siburan Health Clinic), it was conceptualised with a Pre-Approved Plan by Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR) at the Federal level and the electricity supply was based on the specifications from TNB.
“For projects in Sarawak, it should be based on Sarawak Energy Berhad specifications,” he explained, adding that the problem had since been sorted out.
He stressed that Sarawak’s future projects ought to follow SEB specifications.
Present during the visit was Puncak Borneo MP Datuk Willie Mongin. — DayakDaily
