Dr Sim: Govt facilitating return of over 800 S’wakian medical personnel wishing to serve in the state

KUCHING (March 7): Sarawak is in discussions with Putrajaya to facilitate the return of over 800 Sarawakian medical staff who wish to serve in the state, said Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian.

He said the state has positions available for the returning medical personnel and aims to ensure they can serve closer to home.

“Under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63), one of the items we want to talk about is to bring back our (Sarawakian) staff, because in the state, our nurses, paramedics, we also don’t have enough.

“And there are more than 800 of them who are Sarawakians, who want to come back. More than 800 of them have already indicated they want to return. We have the posts here,” he told reporters after officiating at an influenza immunisation programme at the Batu Kawa health clinic here today.

He pointed out this is why Sarawak is seeking health autonomy, so that the state can manage its medical resources.

“So we can make our own decisions, rather than waiting for KL to send the staff when they feel like it,” he said.

Dr Sim said most of the health workers prefer to serve in their own home state, adding that the cost of returning home was much cheaper compared to when they are posted to Peninsular Malaysia.

Earlier this month, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said one of the reasons some nurses chose to leave serving the Ministry of Health (MoH) was because of their placement outside their home states.

In his reply to a supplementary question from Datuk Dr Alias Razak (PN-Kuala Nerus) in the Dewan Rakyat on March 3, he said a total of 1,754 nurses left the service with MoH over the past five years with 27.98 per cent of them citing personal problems.

Lukanisman said the situation posed a challenge for the ministry, as nurse placements are determined based on the needs of each state.

-Agency