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Kota Kinabalu: Innoprise Corporation Sdn Bhd (ICSB) Executive Chairman Datuk Jasnih Daya warned that Sabah is currently grappling with a critical cardiovascular emergency.

A relentless surge in life-threatening heart conditions — driven by rampant hypertension and diabetes — has pushed the state’s healthcare infrastructure to the brink, necessitating immediate and radical intervention to prevent a public health collapse, he said.

With local facilities struggling to cope with the influx of patients, Jasnih cautioned that the current dependency on Kuala Lumpur is no longer sustainable, describing the situation as a primary challenge for the state’s survival.

Speaking at a landmark memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing between the Yayasan Sabah Group and the National Heart Institute (IJN) on Monday, Jasnih revealed that the rising tide of non-communicable diseases has created a desperate need for a dedicated, high-standard cardiac facility in Sabah.

Currently, he stressed, the “geographic tax” on Sabahan heart patients is proving fatal.

“Many are forced to endure the gruelling and expensive journey to IJN in Kuala Lumpur, leading to a dangerous trend of late-stage presentations. More concerning is that some patients only seek treatment when it is too late, which not only drives up treatment costs but drastically increases the risk of lethal complications,” Jasnih said.

He emphasised that the proposed IJN hospital in Sabah is not a luxury, but a strategic necessity to prevent Sabahans from dying due to a lack of accessible specialist care.

To address this crisis, a 10-acre site in Likas has already been gazetted for the development of the new heart hospital.

This facility is designed to significantly reinforce the existing Sabah Heart Centre at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, which Jasnih noted is currently operating under limited capacity and cannot meet the growing needs of the population.

“With a high-standard heart hospital in Sabah, we eliminate reliance on outside facilities, reduce travel costs, and — most importantly — enable rapid access to specialist treatment where every second counts,” he said.

Recognising that a hospital is only as effective as its staff, a second MoU was signed between University College Sabah Foundation (UCSF) and IJN University College (IJN-UC) to cultivate a new generation of Sabahan medical experts.

The initiative has already begun with 15 Sabahan students currently training as patient care assistants in Kuala Lumpur. Jasnih expressed a firm commitment to expanding these programs, ensuring that Sabah develops its own “medical shield” of highly skilled professionals to manage the state’s escalating health crisis.

“This collaboration is about more than healthcare; it’s about the future progress and well-being of our people,” Jasnih said, signalling a new era in which Sabah takes full command of its citizens’ heart health.