By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 23: Sarawak aims to emulate the exemplary healthcare system of Basel, Switzerland, renowned for its emphasis on public health excellence.
Deputy Premier of Sarawak Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian, who also serves as Minister for Public Health, Housing, and Local Government (MPHLG) Sarawak, stated in a Facebook post today that much of the Basel state government’s mission and vision align with the Sarawak government’s healthcare goals.
Dr Sim said that Switzerland’s decentralised healthcare system, where healthcare responsibilities are delegated to cantonal and municipal levels, aligns closely with Sarawak’s vision of health autonomy under Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
According to the minister, he found the Basel state government to be quite eye-opening.
“(Basel) is the richest of Switzerland’s 26 states, despite having no natural resources other than human resources. It also serves as the headquarters of Novartis Medical and Roche Medical,” he said in the Facebook post.
He further remarked that Basel boasts a robust economy, with income exceeding SF4 billion and an allocation of 12 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to healthcare for its population of around 200,000.
Dr Sim note that Sarawak’s income was RM13.3 billion last year with rich natural resources, and made possible only with the ‘revenue reengineering’ by Sarawak Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg since 2018 which increased revenue from RM6 billion.
“Sarawak received RM2.8 billion from the Ministry of Health Malaysia for 2,900,000 people. A long way to catch up for Malaysia and Sarawak with 3 per cent GDP spending on healthcare only, at the same time facing the challenge of a rapid aging population,” he asserted.
Dr Sim also noted the implementation of compulsory health insurance, with residents of Basel paying around $5,000 per year.
Meanwhile, in another Facebook post, he expressed his gratitude to pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG based in Basel for choosing and trusting Sarawak as one of its main clinical research sites in Malaysia and a First In Human (FIH) research site.
“Sarawak wants to expand research and development (R&D) beyond the current FIH, enabling Sarawak and ‘anak Sarawak’ to get a bigger share of Novartis’ R&D worth US$8.6 billion.
“It is part of Sarawak’s development in the high-value economic chain and talent development, as well as reducing dependence on natural resources,” he added.
The minister added that Novartis is one of the five best multinational pharmaceuticals in the world. — DayakDaily
