KUALA LUMPUR, August 15 — Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad visited multiple public health clinics, district hospitals, and other health care facilities in a four-day working visit to Sabah from August 11 to 14.
In the east coast of Sabah, Dzulkefly visited Karamunting Klinik Desa, Ulu Dusun Klinik Kesihatan, Duchess of Kent Hospital (HDOK) in Sandakan, as well as Bukit Garam Klinik Kesihatan, Batu Puteh Klinik Kesihatan, and Kinabatangan Hospital in Kinabatangan.
The health minister also visited Lamag Klinik Desa, Lahad Datu Klinik Kesihatan, and Lahad Datu Hospital in Lahad Datu, besides the Kunak district health office (PKD), Kunak Klinik Kesihatan Ibu dan Anak, Lormalong Klinik Desa, and Kunak Hospital in Kunak.
Yesterday, Dzulkefly visited Pulau Bum Bum Klinik Kesihatan, Semporna PKD, Semporna Klinik Kesihatan, and Semporna Hospital in Semporna, besides Merotai Besar Klinik Kesihatan and Tawau Hospital in Tawau.
The top five highlights of Dzulkefly’s whirlwind tour of Sabah are as follows:
Measles-Rubella (MR) Vaccination Programme Monitoring
Dzulkefly visited Karamunting Klinik Desa (Semporna), Lamag Klinik Desa (Lahad Datu), Lormalong Klinik Desa (Kunak), Lahad Datu Klinik Kesihatan, and Merotai Besar Klinik Kesihatan (Tawau) to monitor the MR vaccination programme.
This was part of the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) nationwide MR supplementary immunisation activity (MRSIA) campaign for children aged under five years from August 4 until October 12 to increase immunisation coverage, amid a rise in measles outbreaks.
The MRSIA campaign included an outreach programme at Pulau Bum Bum Klinik Kesihatan in Semporna to ensure comprehensive immunisation coverage in rural and island communities.
Dzulkefly described Pulau Bum Bum Klinik Kesihatan as a unique clinic because it had a ward of eight beds, with the potential to function as a more comprehensive community treatment centre to serve more than 20,000 residents on the island.
“This concept is akin to ‘cottage hospitals’ in Australia and New Zealand that should be expanded to other interior areas to provide basic and inpatient services that are closer to the community, without needing to visit a district hospital in the mainland,” Dzulkefly wrote on Facebook.
Dilapidated Clinic Project: Visits And Officiations
Dzulkefly visited the following dilapidated health care facilities that are undergoing upgrades:
- Lamag Klinik Desa, Lahad Datu (fully completed).
- Bukit Garam Klinik Kesihatan, Kinabatangan (upgrading in progress).
- Merotai Besar Klinik Kesihatan, Tawau (upgrading in progress).
Facilities were officiated by the health minister during his working visit under the 12th Malaysia Plan:
- Ulu Dusun Klinik Kesihatan, Sandakan.
- Lormalong Klinik Desa, Kunak.
- New maternal and child health (MCH) building at Merotai Besar Klinik Kesihatan, Tawau.
Lamag Klinik Desa in Lahad Datu, which provides the MR vaccine to children in the community, underwent construction works and electrical wiring system upgrades last year for under RM50,000.
Lormalong Klinik Desa in Kunak was upgraded from its original wooden structure into a concrete and cement building for half a million ringgit.
“This transformation not only provides a more comfortable and safer environment for patients and health care workers, but also provides better infrastructure for outpatient treatment, examinations of pregnant mothers, immunisation, and health promotion,” Dzulkefly wrote on Facebook.
“Primary health care services like these are very important in supporting secondary and tertiary services, namely hospitals. It functions as the first layer of the health care system, with early screenings, treatment of regular illnesses, maternal and child health care, immunisation, and health promotion to reduce the burden on referral facilities.”
District Hospital Visits, Permanent Appointment Letter Presentations
Dzulkefly visited several district hospitals in Sabah, namely HDOK, Kinabatangan, Lahad Datu, Kunak, Semporna, and Tawau, to review operations and hold meet-and-greets with the management and health care staff.
The health minister also personally handed permanent appointment letters to two medical officers: Dr Zulika Farina Zainon, a Sandakan native who is currently serving at Karamunting Klinik Desa in Sandakan, and Dr Muhammad Izrin Syukri Mohd Nasri, who was born in Puchong, Selangor, and is serving at Kinabatangan Hospital.
“Their presence isn’t merely to fill vacancies, but to strengthen the frontlines of the health system to ensure that people living in the interiors don’t have to travel for hours to seek treatment,” Dzulkefly wrote on Facebook.
A total of 307 medical officers were offered permanent positions under Phase One of the ePlacement system to serve in Sabah, including 10 in HDOK Sandakan.
HDOK is the lead hospital for the Sabah east coast, providing 19 specialist services as the main referral centre for Sandakan, Kinabatangan, Beluran, Telupid, and Tongod.
“With 414 operating beds, HDOK has a large work burden comprising outpatient treatment, surgeries, emergency cases, and maternity services,” Dzulkefly wrote on Facebook.
“My visit also looked at facility development and upgrade needs. This includes building a new block, temporary transfers from the risky old ward, and adding a high-capacity water tank to ensure continuity of hospital operations in the event of water supply disruptions.”
Mobile Pharmacy Launch, Planned Tawau Wellness Hub
Dzulkefly announced that a Tawau Wellness Hub will be constructed next year as a community centre for health promotion, screenings, and outreach activities.
The health minister also launched a Mobile Pharmacy in Tawau as a collaboration between the Tawau PKD and Jalinan Kasih Harapan Rakyat Sabah Association that delivers repeat prescription drugs to patients’ homes without charge.
When officiating the new MCH building at Merotai Besar Klinik Kesihatan in Tawau, which began operations in early 2024, Dzulkefly highlighted the impact of the non-communicable disease (NCD) burden that he described as a “silent pandemic”.
“The district of Tawau alone reported more than 8,500 diabetes cases and 6,000 hypertension cases last year,” Dzulkefly wrote on Facebook.
Besides construction of the Tawau Wellness Hub scheduled in 2026, the health minister said Merotai Besar Klinik Kesihatan would be upgraded with X-ray and dental facilities.
Tawau Hospital: Cath Lab and Park & Take Pharmacy
Dzulkefly announced a new Park & Take Pharmacy at Tawau Hospital, expected to be fully operational by mid-September, that aims to reduce the waiting time for medicine collection.
Tawau Hospital is a referral centre in the east coast of Sabah that provides services to residents in Tawau and the surrounding districts, including Semporna, Kunak, and Lahad Datu.
As a secondary hospital, Tawau Hospital offers various specialist and critical services, including an intensive care unit (ICU), an emergency and trauma department, and haemodialysis. Out of the 307 medical officers offered permanent positions in Sabah, 40 were posted to Tawau Hospital.
“This value-added pharmacy service will enable patients of specialist clinics to more easily collect their medications, without having to wait long at the counter,” Dzulkefly wrote on Facebook, referring to the Park & Take Pharmacy.
“It will be fully operational by the middle of this September, benefiting senior citizens, people with disabilities (OKU), civil servants, and private sector workers with limited time, thus saving patients’ time from the daily congestion at the outpatient pharmacy.”
The health minister also announced a new invasive cardiovascular laboratory (ICL), also known as a cath lab, for Tawau Hospital.
“With the setting up of the invasive cardiovascular laboratory, patients in the Sabah east coast can now obtain immediate treatment for heart attack without needing referral to distant hospitals. This will expedite door-to-balloon time, save lives, reduce costs, and ensure equitable access to cardiology care,” said Dzulkefly.
Tawau Hospital’s cath lab aims to provide a door-to-balloon (D2B) time of less than 90 minutes for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), in line with international standards.
D2B refers to the time between a patient’s arrival at the hospital and the inflation of a balloon in the blocked artery during PCI for patients with ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a severe type of heart attack with a greater risk of serious complications and death.
“This visit isn’t merely to inspect buildings or to read reports. More importantly, it’s an opportunity to greet people, listen to the heartbeat of the community in the interiors, and understand the challenges of health care workers on the field, besides ensuring that no one is left behind from accessing quality care,” Dzulkefly wrote at the start of his trip last Monday, from the beaches of Sandakan, through the interior roads of Kinabatangan, and to the islands of Semporna and the edge of Tawau.
