By Wilfred Pilo
KUCHING, May 6: Deputy Sarawak Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian says that he will follow-up with Sarawak Health Department on the alleged two-hour (120 minutes) waiting time for patients at Bintulu Specialist Clinic, as it is not acceptable.
Dr Sim added that he would want to get more details from Sarawak Health Department on such allegations to find out more about complaints.
He said that Sarawak Health Department is a federal government agency, and the federal government has not been doing a good job for Sarawak in all aspects in terms of hospitals, infrastructure, and human resources.
“That this is more reason why Sarawak should get back our health autonomy,” he told reporters when asked about the long waiting time to see a specialist doctor at the clinic during the opening of the First Meeting of the Third Term of the 19th Sarawak Legislative Assembly by Head of State Tun Pehin Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar today.
Dr Sim who is also Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government reiterated that this is why the Sarawak Premier has proposed a mechanism by which Sarawak would finance federal projects first like the Sarawak Heart Centre, which Wan Junaidi highlighted in his speech.
He also revealed that in his winding-up speech in the Sarawak Legislative Assembly later, he will give a rough estimate of how much repairing dilapidated clinics and hospitals would cost.
Dr Sim also explained that dilapidated clinics are more costly than dilapidated schools to repair as the former costs three times more to fix.
“That is why Sarawak Premier has been very kind to have an arrangement with Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim to resolve such issues.
Dr Sim further disclosed the Sarawak government left the arrangement to the committee headed by Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN) and Sarawak Secretary (SS) to work out the details.
“Hopefully, they will be able to address the part on equipment, the infrastructure and human resources.”
Dr Sim lamented further that the federal government has not taken into consideration the number of personnel that are needed in hospitals and clinics because they are always based on population.
“They (federal government) never take our geography into special consideration.
“So since the federal government does not do a good job, we tell them that it (should) give the power back (health autonomy) to Sarawak.”
Dr Sim said Sarawak will discuss this autonomy again in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) committee as from their first meeting until now, the Sarawak government maintains that the federal government has not done a good job. — DayakDaily
