Kota Kinabalu: Sabah’s healthcare system is crippled by a severe doctor shortage, ageing facilities and geographic isolation. According to Health Ministry data as of April 2025, Sabah – home to 3.742 million – has only one doctor for every 795 people, nearly double the Health Ministry’s target ratio of 1:400 and more than three times below the World Health Organization’s recommended ratio of 1:225.
Of the 9,356 doctors Sabah needs to meet the Health Ministry’s minimum ratio, only 4,708 are currently serving in the State. And of these, just 2,522 are permanent medical officers.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Dr Istefan Koh, health advisor to Parti Warisan and a former doctor, said the data pointed to a worrying trend.
“There’s a silent collapse happening in the system,” he said, referring to rising resignation rates, a growing population, and what appears to be insufficient Federal response to staffing needs.
He noted that only 28pc of current medical officers in Sabah are local-born, further exacerbating the state’s reliance on federal deployments that are often unpredictable or delayed.
The turnover rate among medical officers in Sabah was 46pc in 2024, and had already reached 10.3pc by April this year, with most leaving due to contract expiration, transfers, or burnout. Koh said such instability places a heavier burden on the doctors who remain.
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});In one instance, he claimed that a hospital in Semporna saw six out of 21 doctors leave within a month earlier this year.
“Imagine the weight they are carrying,” he said. “Doctors are saying they want to quit – it’s getting very bad in Sabah. What else can we do but wait for reinforcements?”
Advertisement (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});He added that while the population continues to grow, medical staffing has not increased proportionally. In 2023, the ratio stood at 1:680, and it has since worsened.
The data also highlights infrastructure constraints. Sabah has 24 hospitals, the majority over 50 years old, many serving remote areas.
Distances between facilities can exceed 550km, with some patients travelling up to six hours one way just to access basic care.
Nearly half of Sabahans live in rural or island areas, with many living in poverty, making access to specialist care even more difficult.
Koh also pointed to facilities like the newly built Hospital Beluran, which remains underutilised due to staffing constraints, and Tawau Hospital, which he said has enough beds but not enough personnel to provide full services.
He urged federal health authorities to accelerate promised reforms and provide immediate manpower support, particularly for rural Sabah.
