KUCHING: Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian has welcomed the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that the state and federal governments will jointly develop the Sarawak Cancer Centre in Kota Samarahan.
"I am very grateful to the prime minister who has finally agreed to have a financial arrangement where the Sarawak government will build the centre first with its funds and the federal government will reimburse the state government later," he said when asked to respond to the prime minister's announcement when tabling the 2025 federal budget in Parliament today.
Dr Sim, who is also the state Public Health, Housing and Local Government minister, said the state government needs to get the federal government technical and working committee to sit down and get the project going as soon as possible.
He said Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Openg had said last year that he wanted the cancer centre project to be completed during Anwar's tenure as prime minister.
Anwar, in tabling the federal budget, has said that the cancer centre project will cost about RM1 billion.
On allocations for government clinic and hospital projects under the federal budget, Dr Sim said the state government will need to look at the details as to how many are new projects in Sarawak.
He said the allocations could be a continuation of the ongoing projects.
"We hope there is a significant increase in funding for the repair works on dilapidated government clinics and hospitals which runs into billions," he said.
He noted that Abang Johari had made a special offer of RM50 million from the state government and another RM50 million from the federal government to repair dilapidated clinics and hospitals in Sarawak.
However, he said it would take many years to complete repairs on all the dilapidated clinics and hospitals.