Kuching: The Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) move in opposing the Democratic Action Party (DAP) Sarawak’s proposal to establish state-owned private hospitals clearly demonstrates that Deputy Premier Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian and SUPP, apart from criticising DAP, have no concrete plans to improve Sarawak’s healthcare development.
DAP Sarawak Green Road Branch Vice Secretary Chong Hong Hien said the proposal, raised during the DAP Sarawak annual convention, aimed to help Sarawakians access affordable and quality healthcare through state-linked medical institutions.
“After DAP proposed the idea of state-owned private hospitals, SUPP repeated its old rhetoric – urging DAP to seek more federal allocations and to demand the devolution of healthcare autonomy under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63).
“Such statements sound appealing but are ultimately hollow, exposing SUPP’s shallow understanding of the facts,” said Chong in a statement.
Chong noted that MA63 never granted Sarawak healthcare autonomy, and in other words, SUPP’s claim of “seeking healthcare rights under MA63” has no legal or factual basis.
He also reminded that the current Deputy Health Minister, Lukanisman Awang Sauni, who is also Sibuti MP, is a Gabungan Parti Sarawak
(GPS) leader from PBB, a coalition partner of SUPP.
“These facts show that SUPP, as part of the GPS government, has no concrete proposals to strengthen Sarawak’s healthcare system beyond asking DAP to fight for more allocations.
“Even its political objectives are unclear – SUPP doesn’t seem to know what powers can actually be reclaimed under MA63,” he said.
Chong also questioned why Dr Sim Kui Hian, as both Deputy Premier and SUPP President, did not discuss Sarawak’s healthcare challenges with his GPS colleague, Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman, to find practical solutions.
“Or is SUPP’s position within GPS so redundant that they cannot even convince its own counterparts? Or does SUPP genuinely believe that DAP’s five MPs without any government posts wield more influence than GPS’s five full ministers, including the Deputy Prime Minister, and six deputy ministers, among them the Deputy Health Minister?” he asked.
He further explained that DAP had long championed the idea of devolving powers to Sarawak.
“As early as 2014, the Bintulu Declaration proposed the reclamation of four key autonomies, including healthcare. The concept of state-owned private hospitals is a continuation of this vision for greater decentralisation and local empowerment,” he said.
In fact, Chong noted that state-owned private hospitals are not a new concept – Normah Medical Centre itself is an example.
“The problem, however, is that most Sarawakians cannot afford the high medical fees charged by such private institutions.
“Dr. Sim recently announced that more private hospitals will be established in Sarawak, but if these hospitals remain unaffordable, how will that solve the problem of ordinary people being unable to afford proper treatment? Clearly SUPP’s idea of ‘Sarawak First’ translates to for the wealthy few, not for the masses,” he said.
Chong argued that the model for state-owned private hospitals could mirror the state’s free education initiative.
“Although Sarawak has yet to gain autonomy over healthcare and education, the state government managed to come up with free education through subsidies to its own private universities.
“If the government can subsidise its private universities to make education free, why can’t it do the same for healthcare – by subsidising state-linked private hospitals to make healthcare affordable to the masses?” he asked.
Chong emphasised that DAP’s call is not merely about building hospitals or asking for more allocations, as SUPP often suggests, but about urging both the federal and state governments to pursue de-federalisation and accelerate devolution of powers.
“Only through such decentralisation can Sarawak and indeed all parts of Malaysia enjoy more autonomous and sustainable development,” he said.
In conclusion, Chong criticised SUPP for remaining trapped in outdated thinking, focusing solely on allocations while ignoring the larger need for institutional reform and devolution.
“This is precisely why SUPP can only criticise others on healthcare issues, yet fails to present any constructive or visionary solutions for Sarawak,” he said.
