BY NATASHA JEE & MA CHEE SENG
KOTA SAMARAHAN: The Sarawak Government through Yayasan Sarawak will continue offering scholarships to Sarawakian students to further their studies in various courses.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said this is in line with Sarawak’s aspiration to produce key experts and manpower as needed by the state.
He explained that Yayasan Sarawak has offered scholarships to Sarawakian students to pursue medical studies in order to achieve the target of producing 200 medical doctors within five years to meet the need for specialist doctors in hospitals in the state, including rural areas.
“We look at the demand (for medical doctors), if there are too many, it is also difficult, then you have a surplus of doctors.
“So, if you can supply to meet the demand (and) if there is equilibrium, then you can try to find other courses (to be sponsored) and that is necessary for Sarawak,” he said.
He told reporters at a press conference at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) here today (Nov 1).
The Premier was alluding to questions from reporters on whether the state government will continue to offer scholarships to students to pursue medical studies after its target of producing 200 medical doctors within five years is achieved.
Abang Johari, who is also the Finance and New Economy Minister, said for instance, the state can offer scholarships to students in courses that are related to biochemistry.
“With this, we can produce a lot of expertise in bio-chemistry including specialists for our petrochemical sector,” he said.
Earlier, Abang Johari also presented the scrolls to 35 graduates of the Doctor of Medicine programme at the second session of UNIMAS’s 26th Convocation Ceremony.
They are the first cohort of graduates to complete their medical studies under the full sponsorship of the Sarawak government through Yayasan Sarawak.
On another note, he said the state government is also in discussion to set up a cancer centre and hence specialist doctors are needed to treat cancer patients.
“So, the arrangement is like this, the federal government said they do not have the fund, and what I do is that we (Sarawak) build the cancer centre and the federal government will provide all the necessary equipment including the doctors,” he said.
Abang Johari added that recently, he had visited Samsung Biologics which is doing research to produce medicine to treat cancer.
“In Samsung Biologics, they are doing research to produce drugs that can penetrate the targeted cancer cell.
“In other words, it (cancer cell) does not spread out to the other cell. So, this is in the process and therefore it will be good for our doctors to learn from this,” he said.
