KOTA KINABALU: Health crisis expert Dr Maria Suleiman has been appointed as the new Director of Health for Sabah, effective today (Dec 20).
She succeeds Datuk Dr Asits Sanna, who retired on Dec 4.Dr Maria, a native of Penampang, brings over 30 years of experience in the Ministry of Health.
Prior to this role, she served as the Deputy State Health Director (Public Health).She holds a medical degree from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), where she graduated in 1990, and a Master's degree in Community Health, also from UKM, which she completed in 1996.
With extensive expertise in epidemiology, Dr Maria has played a pivotal role in health crisis surveillance, preparedness, and response.
Her key achievements include managing major outbreaks and disasters, such as the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, the 2013 Lahad Datu intrusion, the 2015 Mount Kinabalu earthquake, the 2018 Malaysian Field Hospital operation in Cox's Bazar, and the 2019 Sungai Kim Kim chemical contamination.
She also led the National Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) during the Covid-19 pandemic, overseeing areas such as data management, quarantine, humanitarian aid, and risk communication.
In 2022 and last year, Dr Maria significantly contributed to laboratory testing management at the National Public Health Laboratory under the Ministry of Health Malaysia.
Currently, she oversees public health services for the Sabah State Health Department and represents Malaysia at Asean forums, contributing to initiatives such as the Asean EOC Network, Asean Disaster Health Management, and biosafety and biosecurity programmes.
A researcher, she has published studies on tetrodotoxin and paralytic shellfish poisoning in Sabah, and also teaches part-time at Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Kota Kinabalu Allied Health Science College.