Dr Sim: Sarawak needs to catch up on occupational health - Borneo Post Online (2025)

KUCHING (April 21): There is an urgent need for Sarawak to catch up in the field of occupational health, which must no longer be viewed as relevant only to large companies and heavy industries, said Datuk Amar Dr Sim Kui Hian.

The Deputy Premier pointed out that occupational health is increasingly becoming a mainstream concern that must be addressed at every level of the workforce.

“People always think that occupational health is just for big companies, big industries, and so on.

“But occupational health is becoming increasingly recognised as a core part of the workplace. That means every workplace, there should be coordinators. Everyone must be involved,” he told a press conference at his office in Wisma Bapa Malaysia here today.

The press conference was held in conjunction with the upcoming 24th Asian Congress on Occupational Health (ACOH), in which Sarawak has won the bid to host the triennial congress next year.

Also present were ACOH 2026 organising chairman Prof Dr Abu Hasan Samad and Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts permanent secretary Datu Sherrina Hussaini.

Dr Sim said there are significant gaps in occupational health knowledge and training that must be filled, especially as the nature of work and workplace challenges evolve in the era of artificial intelligence (AI) and innovation.

“We need to train a lot of people, and we need to catch up on the knowledge. Hopefully with AI and new innovations, we can catch up faster,” he said.

He also said that conferences like ACOH are crucial not only for acquiring expertise but also for building local and national capacity in occupational health.

“We are very grateful for the opportunity to host this conference. In the past, such events were held in countries like South Korea. But how can we afford to send so many people there as it will costs us.

“By having the congress in Kuching, this will make it more accessible to Malaysians and others in the Asean region,” he said.

Dr Sim expressed hope that the upcoming ACOH would serve as a catalyst for long-term development in occupational health in Sarawak and Malaysia, with benefits that extend across borders.

“This kind of event will help us develop our whole occupational health landscape. We want to sustain it.

“We thank all these international organisations for giving us the opportunity so that together, once we build the knowledge, we will share it with others,” he said.

The ACOH 2026 is scheduled to be held from Aug 5 to 8 at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching and is expected to attract 2,000 occupational safety and health experts from across the globe.

Hosting the event is the Academy of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Malaysia (AOEMM) in collaboration with the Asian Association of Occupational and Environmental Health (AAOEH), which advocates for the protection of health of workers and the promotion of wellness within the working population.

The international bid win was a result from a collaboration between AOEMM, Business Events Sarawak (BESarawak), and the Malaysia Convention and Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB).