A DAP assemblyman has urged the Sarawak government to give a timeframe for the establishment of the first cancer centre in the state, questioning the lack of details on the proposed project.
Pending assemblyman Violet Yong said deputy premier Dr Sim Kui Hian should issue an official statement outlining the timeframe and action plan for the cancer centre.
This is especially since Sim had said the healthcare facility was among the main items on the agenda at a meeting on the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) held in Kuala Lumpur last Monday, said Yong.
“It’s been nearly a week since the MA63 meeting was held, yet Sarawakians have heard nothing from Sim. There is no update, no progress report and no confirmation on what was discussed.
“Any continued silence raises the question of whether this project is truly being prioritised or simply used as a political talking point,” she said in a statement.
Yong urged the Sarawak government to provide an update on the development, especially since both Sim and Sarawak premier Abang Johari Openg had said the state administration was willing to fund the project first and let Putrajaya reimburse it later.
She added that the Sarawak cancer centre was not a luxury project but a necessary healthcare facility, given that Sarawak General Hospital’s oncology unit was already stretched in terms of resources.
“Cancer does not wait for political bureaucracy and neither should the people. If the state is ready to fund the hospital, there is no excuse for a delay.”
The Sarawak cancer centre was among key projects listed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for the health sector under the 13th Malaysia Plan.
In July 2023, the Sarawak government wrote to Anwar to offer to use its own funds for the centre’s construction as cancer patients in Sarawak could ill-afford to wait for federal funds to develop the project.
