“This includes 32 physical projects for the construction of hospitals and clinics (such as the Sabah Heart Centre, KK Sapulut Nabawan and the new block of Tawau Hospital), as well as 21 non-physical projects specifically for the digitalisation of ICT (information and communication technology) and the procurement of the latest medical equipment,” he said.

He said this when speaking at the ‘Program Bual Bicara Bersama Menteri Kesihatan’’ entitled  “Perkhidmatan Kesihatan di Sabah: Realiti Semasa, Cabaran dan Harapan Masa Hadapan” at the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) Sabah Campus here today.

Dzulkefly said that for the period 2023 to 2025, the MOH through the Bitara MADANI initiative has completed the redevelopment and upgrading of 132 dilapidated clinics in Sabah with an allocation of RM75.5 million.

“For 2026, we are planning the implementation of the remaining 46 dilapidated clinics in phases,” he said.

He said that the health ministry had also projected that Sabah's health allocation will increase by five per cent per year, with the state's allocation expected to reach RM4 billion by 2030.

He said during a series of working visits to district hospitals in Sabah recently, that the MOH had also approved an immediate allocation of RM4.3 million, including RM988,000 for Tambunan Hospital, RM1.279 million for Ranau Hospital, with four new ambulances, and RM2.01 million to upgrade the outpatient unit of Kota Belud Hospital.

Meanwhile, Dzulkefly said the MOH would implement a pilot project for the delivery of medicines via drones in Tawau in the fourth quarter of 2026 to expedite the delivery of critical medical supplies to remote areas.

He said health digitalisation was also among the MOH's main focuses in efforts to improve the efficiency of service delivery.

“Eighty-eight per cent of our patients are now screened and treated in less than an hour. The Cloud-Based Clinic Management System (CCMS) is being expanded to 36 Klinik Kesihatan in Sabah, while all 44 primary dental clinics in Sabah are now using digital dental records through the Dental Information System,” he said.

Dzulkefly said the government also targetted the entire national health ecosystem to be fully digitalised by 2030 to realise the vision of “One Individual, One Record”.

He said the MOH’s collaboration with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) had also enabled the primary digital integration target to be accelerated from 2045 to the first quarter of 2027.

“In Sabah, we also have e-Health services which are now integrated with the National Information Dissemination Centre (NADI) ecosystem under the supervision of MCMC so that residents in the interior and islands can get virtual consultations (telehealth) without having to drive far,” he said.

Meanwhile, Dzulkefly said that the shortage of manpower remained among the main challenges facing the health service in Sabah, with the state's job filling rate currently at 88.51 per cent, involving 3,557 vacancies.

He said Sabah was currently supported by 2,546 doctors, 549 specialists and 10,164 nurses.

"The deeper reality is that Sabah is often used as a "training ground" or just a stopover training place before personnel apply for transfers out," he said.

According to him, in 2025, only 12 medical specialists reported to Sabah compared to 57 specialists who transferred out, while for pharmacists, 174 people entered and 115 applied to leave in the same year.

To address the issue, he said the MOH-Public Service Department (JPA) Workforce Management Task Force was established in April 2026, followed by the MOH-Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) Joint Committee in June 2026.

--BERNAMA