KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 15: While the successful efforts taken by the Special Task Force on Agency Reform (STAR) to reduce the congestion and patients’ waiting time at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah hospital in Klang, as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, is commendable, the reality is the number of patients have been only distributed to nearby Klinik Kesihatan or health clinics, said Klang Member of Parliament for Klang, Ganabatirau Veraman.
This can only be a temporary measure and there is definitely a need for more health facilities in the area, where the population is close to half a million, said Ganabati, who was debating the mid-term review of the 12th Malaysia Plan tabled by Anwar in Parliament earlier this week.
The Kapar hospital is supposed to be ready in 2026 but todate there are no signs of any work started on the hospital, he said, adding that he had also raised the matter previously.
Basic public facilities such as hospitals and medical services, not only in Klang but other places as well must be given priority in plans, he said, adding that the issue of contract doctors has also not been fully resolved and it should be given priority as well.
The doctors are dealing with issues of life and death, and attention must be paid to this, he added.
Ganabati also raised the issue of delayed works related to the building of schools in the state.
He also pointed out several flood mitigation projects in Klang, where there are many industries, and the country’s major port, have not also moved forward. The area had also faced floods, he said. He also said the allocation to the constituency was also not sufficient, considering its population.
— WE