SIBU: The passing of the Health White Paper (HWP) in Parliament recently paves the way for Sarawak to gain it public health autonomy.
Deputy Minister of Public Health Housing and Local Government Michael Tiang Ming Tee said the HWP spells out what Sarawak wants for its public health services.
“We applaud the passing of the white paper because we will slowly attain our public health autonomy,” he told reporters after receiving the Kembara Merdeka Convoy at the Sibu Central Market today.
Tiang said the HWP decentralises decision-making at the federal level.
“It will allow the state to make our own decisions regarding health services and fund allocation.
“For example at the national level, there is an oversupply of doctors. But at the state level the ratio is still underachieved, and we still need a lot of doctors and nurses in Sarawak.
“Sarawak is a big state, we still need a lot of resources to be allocated to every part of the state to further improve our public health services,” he said.
Tiang believed that Sarawak is moving forward with its health autonomy very soon, especially in improving public health services in rural areas.
The Dewan Rakyat passed the HWP with a majority voice vote on June 15.
