KOTA SAMARAHAN – Sarawak took another step towards dealing with infectious diseases when the state government allocated RM200 million to build a research centre, to begin construction this year.
Chief Minister Datuk Abang Johari Openg today said the research centre would be of international stature, located adjacent to the Sarawak Heart Centre along the Kuching-Samarahan Corridor here.
“The development of the centre is to ensure preparedness for outbreaks and to spearhead the fight against future pandemics in Sarawak,” he told a press conference after conducting a visit to a Covid-19 vaccination centre at the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) campus here.
The chief minister announced the plan to build the centre on November 24 last year, which was approved by the Sarawak cabinet last February and will see experts from Unimas as well as from other international institutes engaged in its development.
“It will have state-of-the-art equipment and Bio-Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) laboratories to allow research and development on BSL-3 infectious agents, and subsequently product testing to ensure commercialisation of research and development output,” he said.
Abang Johari said the project would commence immediately and is expected to be completed within three years, with certain models from other medical research institutions, including those in Singapore, referred to in its development.
He said the centre would complement and collaborate with the Health Ministry in tackling infectious diseases in Sarawak and bring together regional and international talents.
“It is also to attract global biomedical companies to ensure Sarawak is prepared for future challenges, besides providing opportunities for talented Sarawakians to serve Sarawak and drive human capital development in biomedical sciences,” he added. – Bernama, June 16, 2021
