Dr Annuar Rapaee, Sarawak’s assistant minister for public health and housing, said a minimum level of service should be taken into account in providing healthcare in Sarawak.

“A clinic must have a doctor, x-ray machine and a small lab. If all clinics have these facilities, then everyone can enjoy the same service. Then (the) Shared Prosperity Vision can be realised,” he said in commenting on the 12th Malaysia Plan tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He said many people lived in sparsely populated rural areas of Sarawak and would be unlikely to benefit from the government’s plan to achieve a ratio of 2.06 hospital beds for every 1,000 people by 2025.

Although the plan was laudable, it needed to be implemented carefully, especially in places like Sarawak.

“Health services must be based on the ease of access and not based on the population alone.” he said.

Annuar, a cardiologist, also questioned how the government plans to go about deciding which health clinics would be upgraded.

“In Sarawak, there are many health clinics which aren’t just far away but are far behind (in terms of facilities) to other clinics.”

He said if the government upgraded health clinics based on the population they served, then clinics in rural areas may not be upgraded.