By Karen Bong
KUCHING, Oct 30: Sarawak is stepping up efforts to address its shortage of medical professionals by securing 80 places for Sarawakian students to pursue medicine at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), with all expenses to be borne by Yayasan Sarawak.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the 80 places comprised an existing allocation of 40 places and an additional 40 places secured following discussions with Unimas.
He said the additional places were expected to be available from the next academic intake, with students need not apply through the UPU system under the State-sponsored programme.
“Yesterday, I held discussions with Unimas and requested an additional 40 places, bringing the total to 80 places for Sarawakian students pursuing medicine. All the costs will be borne by Yayasan Sarawak,” he said when officiating the 33rd Sarawak Premier Special Award and Sarawak Education Award 2026 at Hikmah Exchange Event Centre today.
Abang Johari said Sarawak needed to produce more doctors locally, pointing out that the State currently faced a shortage of more than 1,000 doctors.
He said attracting medical graduates from Peninsular Malaysia to serve in Sarawak remained a challenge, making it necessary for the State to develop its own pool of medical professionals.
“If graduates from the peninsula do not want to come to Sarawak, so be it. We will produce our own doctors,” he asserted.
He described this as one of the solutions to strengthening the State’s healthcare sector while ensuring Sarawak had sufficient medical professionals to meet its growing needs.
Abang Johari also revealed that the State was making preparations for Universiti Teknologi Sarawak (UTS) in Sibu to establish a medical faculty.
However, he stressed that the proposed faculty must meet high standards and internationally recognised benchmarks to ensure the quality of its medical graduates.
“The preparations, including the recruitment of teaching staff, could take approximately two years,” he shared.
The Premier said the Sarawak government was investing substantially in education to ensure that local students, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds, had opportunities to pursue higher education and acquire the skills required by the State’s evolving economy.
Under Sarawak’s free tertiary education initiative, RM200 million has been allocated in the 2027 Budget to benefit approximately 10,000 Sarawakian students pursuing higher education across 64 identified programmes.
He said the initiative would remove financial barriers faced by students from lower-income households, including children of fishermen and farmers, who might otherwise struggle to afford university education despite having strong academic potential.
He emphasised that developing local expertise was crucial to ensuring Sarawak could meet its future manpower requirements, particularly in specialised fields such as healthcare.
“Our future depends on the quality of our children,” he said.
State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, Deputy Minister of Education and Innovation Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee, Sarawak Education director Dato Omar Mahli and Yayasan Sarawak director Datu Mohamad Junaidi Mohidin were among the distinguished guests present. — DayakDaily
