KUCHING, Oct 6th: Sarawak is adopting proactive measures to protect its population from potential future pandemics, placing a strong emphasis on the essential role of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics in healthcare.
Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, stressed the significance of this initiative during the signing ceremony of Memorandums of Understanding and Agreements for the Sarawak Infectious Disease Centre (SIDC), a subsidiary of the Sarawak Research and Development Council (SRDC).
“In Sarawak, I had a conference together with all the experts in AI. There is a migration of AI to generative AI, where the AI can categorize all the various data and this data, you know, once you got the basic data, perhaps you can find a solution to a certain problem.
“Also, they just demonstrated how the robot named Grace performed her duty to look after patients through healthcare.
“I have suggested to the scientists, the robotic futurists, maybe to work with SIDC. Perhaps, you know, during the pandemic where it can be harmful to all people by spreading fast, we can use robots. At least, they cannot spread the disease to look after the patient,” he said this during the signing of MoU between SIDC and several other agencies.
Meanwhile, the signing ceremony involved the collaboration of SIDC with various international partners, including the Australian National Phenome Centre (ANPC), AMILI Singapore, Monash University Malaysia (MUM), Pacific Biosciences USA (PacBio), Numares AG (Germany), and Agilent Technologies Malaysia (USA).
“This signing enables the SIDC to initiate its research and human capital development program in the area of communicable and non-communicable diseases. It’s part of our capacity-building efforts in Sarawak, focusing on research and development.
“We hope to conduct in-depth research on tropical diseases, considering the recent discussion about the X-disease. Regardless of the nature of the next potential pandemic, we must be prepared. Our past experience with the COVID-19 pandemic taught us the importance of being self-reliant.
“The logistics, including helicopter transport, and ensuring people had access to food, were a massive undertaking,” reiterated Abang Johari, recalling the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Abang Johari also requested that SIDC explore and prepare for future pandemics through research and development.
“Pandemics are unpredictable and evolve over time. In this regard, the Sarawak government is ready to allocate a budget to establish our research center, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and universities.
“This initiative aims to ensure that we are well-prepared in case a new disease emerges,” he explained. – TVS
