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24th August, 2008
KOTA KINABALU: The state government always looks forward to generous contribution and participation from private sector in promoting wellness among the general population.
Healthcare should not be burdened on it alone as the government’s funds and resources were limited and had to be disbursed equally to meet the many needs of the society, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun said.
He said the governments striving to address the multifaceted needs and issues of healthcare services such as the ratio of doctors and nurses to patients, and improving facilities in tandem with modern technology.
“The demand for prompt and quality services keep on growing which the government facilities alone could not cope up with it,” he said at the launching of the Sabah Medical Centre (SMC) Annual Health Awareness campaign yesterday.
Masidi said the situation was more evident in the urban areas and among the affluent society. Facilities and services provided by SMC augured well in complementing government efforts to meet the demands from the consumers.
“SMC is a well known premier private hospital in the state. The facilities are modern and sophisticated while the building is beautiful and does not look like a hospital at all.
“I understand that their patients load have increased tremendously. However, being beautiful and elegant alone is not enough. They should not allow themselves to grow and popular in their homestead only but also to look beyond the shore of Sabah,” he added.
On the widely talked about health tourism, Masidi said his ministry and SMC were working closely to tap into this market segment.
He said the tourism ministry always looked forward to new products for tourists to have the more reasons to land here and they believed that SMC had the technology know-how to offer to the world.
More and more Europeans, Americans, Middle East tourists and even Japanese and Koreans were looking towards East Asia for competitively priced wellness programmes while at the same time enjoying their social and leisure vacations, he said.
“India is famous for her Ayurdeva and Thailand for affordable cosmetic surgeries. They have established themselves as popular destinations for health tourists.
“Our state, Sabah is already on the world map for its exquisite nature attractions such as Mount Kinabalu, Sipadan, Danum Valley, Sukau and lots more. A contribution in the health and wellness fields will be an added value to our tourist attraction.”
Masidi commended SMC for being sensitive, prompt and responsive to the government’s call for private sector’s participation in creating health awareness among the general public.
He said the awareness campaign was a noble gesture on the part of the centre to disseminate the message that health was a pertinent and important aspect of life.
Speaking earlier, SMC executive chairman Tseu Fui Loong said the centre was dedicated to play whatever role to complement the government’s efforts in healthcare services.
Nevertheless, they could not handle the process of disseminating health information to the public on their own, but needed the cooperation of other health agencies.
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