Sarawak deputy premier says Sarawak Cancer Centre needs to be built soon, unfair to make patients wait
KUCHING, July 9 — Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian today said he had written directly to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the proposed construction of the Sarawak Cancer Centre in Kota Samarahan.
He said he wrote the letter at the request of the prime minister to inform him that the construction of the cancer centre is long overdue.
He said Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa has responded to his letter.
“I will have a discussion with Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg tomorrow on what the next cause of action to be taken is,” Dr Sim told reporters after closing a briefing on the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategy 2030 (PCDS 2030) here.
He said he would let Abang Johari make the announcement on the action to be taken by the state government.
“We want to accelerate the whole process because our cancer patients cannot keep on waiting for political decisions to be made,” Dr Sim said.
He said it is costly for cancer patients to get treatment in private hospitals.
“If the federal government allows us to run the cancer centre, we can do it very well,” he said, adding that Sarawak has the expertise to run the medical centre.
He said the federal government should trust the state government to run the cancer centre.
Dr Sim, who is also the state Minister of Public Health, Housing and the Local Government, said cancer is the second cause of death in Sarawak, after heart problems.
Previously, Abang Johari had said that the state government was prepared to build the cancer centre by the end of this year if the federal government agreed to the proposal.
He said the state would collaborate with the federal government, where the state government would fund the building estimated to cost about RM800 million, while the federal government would provide the doctors and equipment.
