KOTA KINABALU: Beyond long distances and rugged terrain, rural healthcare workers in interior Sabah face another persistent challenge – unreliable Internet access that slows essential medical and administrative services.
As healthcare services become increasingly digital, weak connectivity and limited data capacity at facilities affect everything from patient registration to clinical coordination, often forcing staff to rely on personal mobile data to keep operations running.
The rollout of the Madaninet Programme is helping bridge this gap by improving connectivity in remote clinics and strengthening public healthcare delivery.
State Health Department director Datuk Dr William Gotulis said the initiative is timely and necessary, particularly in improving Internet access and expanding data capacity at healthcare facilities.
“This helps in surfing websites and portals relating to administration, patient registration, vaccination data and other important details,” he said.
Kinabatangan area medical officer of health Dr Goh Shu Meng said previous Internet connections in interior clinics were slow, unstable and often insufficient for daily operations.
“Often, we had to use our own devices to get the job done,” he said.
With Madaninet in place, such clinics are now seeing improved connectivity that supports daily operations, including system access, reporting, communication, virtual meetings, training, research, clinical referrals and coordination with hospitals.
Dr Goh said digital connectivity is no longer a convenience but a core part of healthcare delivery in rural and underserved areas.
He said the programme, a collaboration between the Digital Ministry and the National Digital Department, is benefiting facilities such as the Penangah and Minusoh health clinics in Tongod, Sandakan.
“In areas where geography and logistics are already challenging, stable connectivity helps reduce delays in communication and improves services.
“It also indirectly benefits patients and communities by supporting more efficient service delivery, especially for outreach activities and public health operations in rural settings.”
Dr Goh also noted that the Madaninet rollout highlighted broader infrastructure challenges faced by health facilities in interior Sabah, including transport, utilities and basic services.
The Digital Ministry earlier announced that as of April, the initiative had successfully connected 2,883 facilities under the Health Ministry, including those in Kinabatangan and Tongod.
It said the programme would deliver high-capacity Internet access, particularly to rural and remote healthcare facilities, supporting service continuity and wider digital transformation across the public sector.
