KUCHING, May 1 — The constituency of Mambong — previously known as Bengoh — is a classic example of the dearth of healthcare facilities in Sarawak, the country’s largest state.

With the state election just days away, the cry for better health services has been taken up by all three electoral candidates from the Barisan Nasional (BN) and the opposition DAP and PKR while stumping for support.

Central to their campaign is the Siburan rural healthcare clinic, built in 1974 and which is today ill-equipped to cater to the 25,000 people residing in the town of the same name located at Km30 of the Kuching-Serian road, as well as the surrounding villages.

“On average, the clinic attends to between 300 and 350 patients a day,” Sanjan Daik, the DAP candidate, told Malay Mail Online.

In his campaign to win support, Sanjan said he has been calling on the government to upgrade the wooden clinic as a temporary measure while a new building is constructed.

Sanjan is not the only one; PKR’s Willie Mongin said his party’s state and federal candidates have been highlighting the issue since 2001.

He claimed that the federal government bowed to pressure in the last state election in 2011.

“After I raised this issue, the then-health minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai pledged that a new, bigger and modern clinic for Siburan costing RM22 million, would be built,” said Willie who first ran for public office in the 2011 Sarawak election.

“Liow said a piece of state land measuring 11.6 acres had been approved for the construction of the clinic.

“Instead, the state land was sold to a private developer for the construction of a commercial centre,” he said.

Liow has since been replaced as federal minister by Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

Willie said there has been little progress since and vowed to continue fighting for an upgrade for the people’s benefit.

“I will not stop bringing up the matter until a new clinic is built,” he said.

Siburan, along with Beratok and Tapah, was established in the 1960s as a new settlement for several thousand ethnic Chinese farmers and their families along the Kuching-Serian road during the communist insurgency in Sarawak and the Indonesian Confrontation with Malaysia.

Last year, the state government raised Siburan’s status to a sub-district administrative centre to serve the villages of Sentah, Masaan, Sungai Duuh, Tijirak, Siga, Sinjok, Mundai, Maang, Sungai Riset, Skuduk, Plaman Payang, Chupak, Duras, Beradau, Prutan, Sebanyis, Tabuan Rabak, Pulau Kandis, Menjau, Patung, Kerumboi, Kuang-Toop, Batu Gong Baru, Batu Gong Lama, Jawa Gunda as well as Beratok and Tapah.

Batting for the BN, candidate Datuk Dr Jerip Susil said the long-awaited clinic upgrade to a Type 3 would happen next year, under the Second Rolling Plan of the 11th Malaysia Plan.

A Type 3 Health Clinic is defined as a clinic with around 300 to 500 patient attendances per day.

Managed by medical officers, such a clinic provides general outpatient, maternal and child, dental and rehabilitation care. It would also have laboratory and radiological services.

Dr Jerip said the rural clinic would be housed in a new building on a 4.4ha site in Siburan town and its healthcare panel will consist of a specialist, medical officers, and pharmacist. The upgraded clinic will also be equipped with a laboratory and an X-ray machine.

“These are much improved facilities that are going to be available when the clinic is implemented, starting 2017,” he said.

Mambong has 17,467 registered voters consisting of 66 per cent Bidayuhs, 26 per cent Chinese, 5 per cent Malays and 3 per cent Ibans.

In the 2011 state elections, Dr Jerip beat Willie to win in Bengoh by 3,646 votes.

Dr Jerip secured 8,093 votes against 4,447 votes obtained by Willie.

Two other candidates were Sarawak National Party’s Richard alias Peter Margaret (928 votes) and Independent Wejok Tomik (1,007).