Pointless to have Sabah’s own health minister, says Masidi

 

Masidi Manjun says the functions of the state’s health ministry are under the state’s community development and people’s wellbeing ministry.

KOTA KINABALU: Local Government and Housing Minister Masidi Manjun has spoken out against a proposal to appoint a state minister to manage health-related matters. He said it would be “pointless” as the minister would not have the power to make policies.

He said the functions of the state’s health ministry as previously established are under the state’s community development and people’s wellbeing ministry led by Shahelmey Yahya.

“I would like to emphasise that the way we manage Covid-19 in Sabah is not much different from what we did before, except for the part that we do not have a health ministry,” he said at a press conference today.

Despite not having a health ministry, he said, all related issues have been addressed and a health minister was unnecessary as it would only bring about duplication of duties with the local government and housing ministry.

Masidi said the state government has always worked closely with the state health director and the Sabah state health department in managing the spread of the virus in the state.

“We have the facts and information that we receive every day, trust me, we know what we are doing. I do not want to argue about it (state health minister) but I just want to explain the reason behind why the portfolio was removed from the new state Cabinet line-up,” he said.

Masidi said all hospitals in Sabah have the capacity to handle Covid-19 patients.“We have renovated 22 buildings to be used as temporary medical centres to treat mild cases,” he said.

He denied an allegation that a hospital in Ranau had run out of personal protective equipment (PPE) supply. “This is not correct because if there is an urgent need, other hospitals in Sabah can send the PPE to them,” he said. - FMT