Word with the Wise: Building Opportunities with YB Datuk Amar Prof. Dr. Sim Kui Hian 

YB Datuk Amar Prof. Dr. Sim Kui Hian, Sarawak’s dedicated Deputy Premier and Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government, delves into the importance of creating opportunities, cultivating talents and saving the planet. 

YB Datuk Amar Dr. Sim Kui Hian

As down to earth as one can be, radiating an air of effortless candour and offering hearty smiles all around is YB Datuk Amar Dr. Sim Kui Hian, currently serving as the Deputy Premier of Sarawak as well as the Minister for Public Health, Housing and Local Government of Sarawak. More than just a public servant, he is a highly accomplished cardiologist and is well-recognised in the international medical scene. Among his past and present leadership roles in the industry included being the Advisor to the National Heart Association of Malaysia, Visiting Senior Consultant Cardiologist at the Sarawak Heart Centre, President of the Asian Pacific Society of Cardiology (2013-2015), Board Member of World Heart Federation (2012-2014), and Adjunct Professor at the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences in University Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS).  

He is also a member of the Hospital Visitor Board of Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) and a board member of Clinical Research Malaysia (CRM). In fact, Newsweek magazine ranked the Sarawak Heart Centre in Kota Samarahan — originally operating as a cardiology department under SGH which the good doctor himself played an instrumental role in setting up — as 48th on the list of top 100 specialised hospitals in the Asia-Pacific region just last year, standing as the sole public hospital from Malaysia to make the cut. Suffice to say, his contributions to the health sector have been and continue to be invaluable.  

Returning to his role as a politician, he continues to show an unwavering commitment to his responsibilities, Sarawak and its people in a manner that is most admirable. Just recently on the 5th of January 2024, he attended the silver anniversary celebration of Thinkscape — a brand environment and interior design firm — at its new headquarters at Sentul Works, donning his staple smile and jovial attitude in demonstrating full support of the design firm and its Sarawakian founder, John Jong. Amidst all the excitement, Dr. Sim Kui Hian made the time to kindly sit down with designspeak.asia and discuss the power of design and the importance of creating opportunities, cultivating talents and saving the planet. 

Given Thinkscape was founded by a homegrown Sarawakian talent and has had 25 years of achievement in the industry, do you have any comments on this milestone? 

I want to congratulate Thinkscape on its 25th anniversary. From the jungles of Borneo to the world stage, Thinkscape shows that talent can come from anywhere, go anywhere and thrive anywhere. Sometimes people say, “If you are so talented, you must be in New York, you must be in London, you must be in Singapore.” It’s not correct. Home is where you’re born, because that is where your roots are, and we are very proud of people who share the same values. Still reaching new heights after 25 years, it shows that talents can be anywhere; we are as good as anywhere in the world, we can compete anywhere in the world, yet we choose to remain at home to be where our roots are. 

It seems like there are many hidden talents in Sarawak. What can Sarawak do more of to nurture these design talents into the international arena? 

What the Sarawak government does now is very simple. We know that when you’re young, you need money for education. When you’re old, you need money for healthcare. In between you just need to look for a job. So, when you’re young, we’re going to give you an education for free and when you’re old, we want to take care of your health which is why we’re pushing for health autonomy, so you need not worry about having a lot of money for education and healthcare.  

We have the basic necessities. What we need now is the opportunity, and exposure. We are at an age where we are no longer as naive as we were in the past. I don’t want anyone to feel sorry for us nor pity us. Give us the opportunity and we’ll seize its best potential. We’ll prove that we are more than capable. 

In your opinion, what are some of the things to be found in Sarawak that could be unique design inspirations for the rest of Malaysia? 

We have all the essential, natural advantages. First, it’s the community; It’s very peaceful and diverse, we accept each other, and we value each other. We don’t resolve our life with conflicts or go looking for differences. All we are thinking about is how to create a better tomorrow. If you have that attitude that stems from one’s upbringing, it’s so easy to work with everyone in the world.  

Apart from that, we also have an abundance of nature that has been underestimated and underappreciated until recent years. Overall, the fabric of our environment is highly unique. It has allowed us to survive, to adapt, to go anywhere, to adapt because we can incorporate that in and share our values.  

Do you think there is a brain drain in the country and what are the initiatives taken to improve talent retention? 

Brain drains here occur because of a lack of educational and professional opportunities.  If I didn’t go to Australia, I wouldn’t have become a cardiologist. Even when I came back to Malaysia, I spent two years in Penang because there were no cardiac centres in Sarawak. Fortunately, Sarawakians today don’t need to go all the way to Australia to become a cardiologist with internationally recognised training.  

On that note, the lack of facilities pertaining to healthcare, ageing and lifestyle is another reason — these are the factors which drive people to go elsewhere like Singapore, for example. However, Sarawak is doing so well nowadays that those who retire would like to return. We need to address all of these concerns so that people will know that, if say, you get a heart attack in Sarawak, our facilities are just as good as Singapore.  

As for education, by 2026, any Sarawakian can enroll in courses at the Sarawak branch campuses for Swinburne University of Technology and Curtin University for free. If you are taking an engineering course at Swinburne, you don’t have to take any exams to work in Australia because it has already been recognised.  

At the end of the day, it’s all about good leadership that leads to good policies. There is no way to address brain drain by simply handing out higher paychecks, it’s about building a better environment that will make the people happy to live and stay here.  

In your opinion, does design have a role to play for a more effective government? If so, how? 

We design policy. We design implementation. We design social intervention. We design the education syllabus. Design is so important to us. If a government truly grasps the power we have in design, it will be awesome. In my constituency in Batu Kawa, Kuching, for example, there was an inconspicuous riverbank reserve that we turned into a riverbank park because I wanted to not merely address the nearby river erosion, but unlock the value for social well-being by illustrating the importance of inclusivity and connectivity.  

This Batu Kawa Riverbank Park project is designed in a way that not only makes different ethnic groups within the area feel included but also encourages multigenerational activities, especially seniors, teenagers and children, allowing entire families to connect. It shows how important policy is, how important design is. As a government, our priority should always be about improving the well-being of people.  

What can governments do to get feedback from design professionals, like architects and interior designers, to ensure better collaboration for the greater good of our community? 

As I am a part of the local council and am responsible for overseeing all the buildings in the area, I host biannual meetings with technical professionals like architects, engineers and even the fire department to understand each other better and figure out the best solutions possible. I will chair the meeting to keep the peace between all parties and ultimately sign off on all decisions made.  

We also meet with the building industry leaders in Sarawak, known as the Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (SHEDA), twice a year to understand them better too and understand why we design certain things in certain ways to enhance lifestyles and maintain racial harmony.  

Any last words for designers today? 

I think the design industry has seen tremendous changes over the last decade. It’s all thanks to urbanisation which in turn has led to climate change, unfortunately. As a result, houses and the environment itself need to be climate change resilient and minimise carbon footprint in the process of doing so. Climate change is not saving the planet, it’s saving mankind.  

We also need to understand the unstoppable AI revolution happening right now. We need to figure out how we are going to embrace it and evolve with it. Overall, we all need to rethink the way we envision and live our lives for a better tomorrow in the long run.