KUCHING: The federal government has been told to do all it can to grant the administrative authority to Sarawak and Sabah over health matters.
Former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law), Tan Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said this includes legislating laws and amending the Federal Constitution.
“Don’t just say ‘we need to be fair to Sarawak’ but fairness also means equality in terms of access to health services, that is why we demanded for it (health autonomy).
“If we need to amend the Federal Constitution, let’s amend the Federal Constitution; if we need to create a law, let’s create that law. That is the responsibility of the Law Minister,” he told New Sarawak Tribune in a telephone interview yesterday (June 12).
Wan Junaidi said he met with a senior officer from the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) secretariat of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to deliberate on the matter recently.
“I told him that we must not be talking (about health matters) in the context of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya – we must also consider the situation in rural areas of Sarawak and Sabah.
“What has happened is that studies were conducted solely in the context of Kuala Lumpur without taking into account the situation in Sarawak,” he said.
He added that he will be submitting his recommendations and suggestions through a letter to the federal government to realise the autonomy on health matters to the East Malaysian states.
Meanwhile, the Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) veteran said Putrajaya must give a fair treatment to Sarawak’s demands for health autonomy along with appropriate funding.
“You cannot compare the situation in Sarawak with other states like Johor, Penang and Perak as the issue lies not only with poverty of the rural population but also accessibility.
“Even with the Sarawak government looking to remedy the issue of connectivity by providing the necessary infrastructure to improve access by the rural dwellers to healthcare, all of this takes time,” he said
Last month, the Sarawak government submitted proposals to the Health Ministry in preparation for the Health White Paper seeking autonomy to employ and place public-sector healthcare workers across the state.
Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian who is also Public Health, Housing and Local Government Minister said this is to improve the ratio of healthcare workers to patients.
“That is why it is so important to have autonomy over human resources. We not only want to be equivalent, but we also want the power so that the Federal Government can tell us the number of workers proposed and Sarawak will employ them,” he said.
