Otherwise ‘tengok saja’: Science needs talent, funding, policies to transform healthcare — Deputy Premier Dr Sim

By Dayangku Hidayatul

KUCHING, June 6: While scientific advancements remain important, Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian said transforming healthcare into a world-class system also requires robust funding, enabling policies and a strong pipeline of skilled talent.

Dr Sim, who is also Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government, said Sarawak is investing in its future healthcare workforce by supporting medical education and providing free tertiary education opportunities for Sarawakian students.

“We are investing in people because we believe in talent building and creating opportunities for success,” he said when officiating the second international congress of Advanced MIS, Robotics and Ablation Society of Gynaecologists Malaysia at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) today.

He said the State’s commitment reflects its belief that building talent is essential to advancing healthcare services, research and innovation.

At the same time, Dr Sim stressed that healthcare professionals must understand the importance of policy and funding alongside scientific knowledge to drive meaningful progress in the sector.

He also said that advancing healthcare technology requires not just innovation, but also policies and funding to ensure such technologies can be adopted in hospitals.

“The role of policymakers is to make laws and create opportunities. If you want a robot in every hospital, you must be able to convince policymakers of its necessity and the need for funding. Otherwise, you keep on saying ‘tengok saja’,” he said.

At the same time, he highlighted the importance of research, noting that Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) has been recognised as Malaysia’s top research hospital.

According to him, SGH was allowed to participate in Malaysia’s first human clinical research studies in 2022, particularly in haematology and oncology.

“One of the drugs involved in that research generated US$1 billion in sales by 2024, and SGH was part of that journey,” he said.

Dr Sim added that SGH had also participated in the development of about half of the 25 oncology drugs subsequently marketed worldwide, demonstrating that Sarawak can compete globally in medical research despite being an island.

He said this also aligns with Sarawak’s vision to become a leader in healthcare services and medical research by 2030 as part of the State’s broader nation-building agenda.

“You may have excellent science, but without funding and supportive laws, it becomes difficult to move forward. To succeed, you need science, policy support and resources working together,” he added. — DayakDaily

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