Hajiji: Scholarships, loans available for Sabahans pursuing healthcare careers

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will support its students who are interested in pursuing a career in healthcare, says Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.

The Sabah Chief Minister said that the state would provide scholarships and study loans to young Sabahans who want to take up medical courses at institutions of higher learning.

"I will ask the Yayasan Sabah and the state Public Services Department to take serious attention to the applications by Sabahan students who want to pursue such courses," he said in his speech when launching the Agenda Nasional Malaysia Sihat-Sabah Maju Jaya (ANMS-SMJ) event at the Sabah International Convention Centre here on Saturday (Sept 10).

Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin in his speech earlier had sought help from the Sabah government to stir interest among young Sabahans to become health practitioners.

"Out of the 20,238 doctors under the Health Ministry, only 807 are from Sabah.

"And only 42 Federal Government-sponsored scholarships were given to Sabahan students who wanted to become specialist doctors, which represents less than 5% of the overall applications," he said, adding there must be more promotional efforts from the state to attract youth to the profession.

Khairy also said it was easier to train Sabahans to become doctors to serve in the state later than to send those from the peninsula.

Hajiji also said the state government, together with its strategic partners, will continue supporting the implementation of the ANMS in Sabah.

He said the concept which involves the smart partnership between the Health Ministry and the Sabah government was apt, especially in promoting a healthy lifestyle among residents in the state.

The Chief Minister said the implementation of the ANMS was seen to be in line with the Sabah Maju Jaya state development plan.

"The objective of the ANMS was to make Malaysians healthy in a physical and mental aspect as well as keeping a clean environment.

"The aims of the agenda also goes hand in hand with the SMJ, which not only focuses on economic development through the agriculture, industrial and tourism sectors, but also towards human capital and sustainable development," Hajiji said.

As such, he said, the combination of the ANMS and SMJ was made at the right time.

"We need citizens who are not only physically healthy, but also in good mental health, in order to develop our agriculture, industrial and tourism industries," he said.