Sabah needs more dentists - Stephen Wong

SANDAKAN, Feb 17 (Bernama) -- The Sabah state government is making efforts to increase the number of dentists in the state.

According to the Sabah Minister of Health and People's Wellbeing Datuk Stephen Wong Tien Fatt, one dentist in the state must serve about 12,800 people compared to Peninsular Malaysia where the ratio was estimated to be 1:6,000.

“My aspiration is that within the next two or three years, we can narrow down the gap in the dentist:patients ratio for Sabah and the peninsula. This is my Key Performance Index (KPI).

“The state government is also working closely with the central government now to ensure that dentists from the peninsula serve for a longer period here as there are not many Sabahans venturing into dentistry,” he said.

He said this when approached by reporters after attending the Chinese New Year Open House organised by the Sandakan DAP, here last night.

Wong said the state government was endeavouring to encourage more Sabahans to take up dentistry to overcome the shortage of dentists in the state.

He also proposed offering scholarships for students taking up dentistry so that they could immediately serve with the government after completing their studies.

-- BERNAMA