The above news report published in Asia Times Sabah today referred.
First of all, I must admit that what this man (Mr. Ng or Huang in Mandarin) said is whole true, nothing, but the truth.
He's been 'working' in the hospital Queen Elizabeth for very long time, and he's more than qualified to speak up and tells all about the situation of the hospital since the main tower block of the hospital declared unsafe.
There is indeed a need of urgency from our beloved YB Liow or PM Najib to act as quickly as possible. We need the facility as early as twenty years ago. Some said that we'd have got all the required medical facilities if there had no PBS pulling out of BN fold twenty years ago. Sabahan was blamed for immature politically as well as paying dearly for its YBs over the years for their own negligence and ignorance (performance) in politic and administration.
The federal must have their own dilemma of not able to immediately completed the acquisition of the Sabah Medical Centre (SMC), and I suspect that CM Musa must have got high level information of impending delay that a so-called 'short term' solution be invoked, and hopefully, the 'Khidmat Hospital' will be in place by next July.
Most of the people I talked to regarding the suitability of location of present Khidmat site to be used as hospital; most were acknowledged as inappropriate, and in fact, some suggested it be turned to a hotel instead.
The KhidmatHospital would never be required if the sales & purchase agreement for the SMC deal was completed immediately after PM Najib’s announcement on 5 May, 2009.
The completion of the purchase is critical in the chain of resolving the QEH case that there would have started the renovation works in SMC which should provide 200 beds in one year time. The benefits are not only we could relieve the congestion problems at present QEH but also be able to demolish the unsafe tower block and commences work on the Twin Tower, as well as able to attracting more doctors to work in QEH.
Therefore, PM Najib should immediately complete the acquisition without further delay under humanitarian and ‘emergency” consideration. Sabah people will surely appreciate his excellent leadership and helps for many years to come.
Kota Kinabalu: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman has issued a directive for work to convert Wisma Khidmat into a private hospital to start soon as possible and completed within one year.
He said the move was necessary in view of the acute shortage of proper medical facilities at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital here, which was causing much inconvenience to the people.
Musa, who is also State Finance Minister, said he had requested a briefing from three senior state health officers on the status of the upgrading of QEH and the approved takeover of Sabah Medical Centre.
"I am sad and disappointed that there is still delay in implementing measures to overcome the lack of medical facilities namely a well-equipped general hospital in Kota Kinabalu," he said after chairing the Cabinet meeting at Wisma Innoprise, Wednesday.
"They are going to build another hospital but we don't know when. So I think we need to take immediate measures," he said, adding "furthermore we feel we can do it a lot faster".
The private hospital costing over RM100 million would have 150 beds and medical facilities such as an operating theatre and would be given "on loan" to the QEH while waiting for the other planned hospital to be completed.
"We have to be proactive in this matter. The State Government will do its part to assist the Ministry of Health to cover the gap until they can provide sufficient medical facilities for the people of Sabah".
He stressed that even though it would be a private hospital "we do not have to think about making profit but the lives and health of the people must come first".
"We realise the suffering of the patients due to the congestion at QEH, not only patients but relatives and doctors are affected," he said. On the parking space at Wisma Khidmat, Musa believed this issue and others would be addressed.
The work to convert Wisma Khidmat into a private hospital is being done by Sabah Credit Corporation, which owns the building. Musa also said that there must be a full cooperation from all relevant authorities to expedite the completion of the hospital.
1. The State Government is taking the initiative to save lives while the federal government has been able to provide 'lip' service only;
2. The federal government is not sensitive to the medical needs of the local people in Sabah;
3. The life of the local people is worthless;
4. The State Government works more efficiently than the federal government;
5. The State Government is more resourceful and creative than federal government in now resolving the woes of the QEH by converting the abandoned Wisma khidmat to a 150-bed private hospital;
6. The federal government has no direction as to how to end the debacle in QEH by not able to tell what, when, and where to expect.
The list can go on and on...
All the above reasons making our CM absolutely justified his decision to 'build' a hospital in a rush while risking of ending up with a 'half-cooked' hospital at the end.
He shouldn't have done it as it's just not a smart way of overcoming the medical service shortages. We need a good long term asset, not an improper short term infrastructure that might be declared unsafe again in less than ten years!
RM100million will be required for the 'Khidmat hospital'; and it may be a better idea if Bukit Padang site be handed over to the State Government for a proper hospital instead of pouring the RM100mil to the so-called 'Khidmat Hospital'? This should only be the last choice of all the options available.
Instead, he should persuade the federal government to immediately pay the SMC to hand-over the building for immediate renovation works on the two storey empty space. PM Najib should have no problem in doing so as he's also the Finance Minister who can use his authority to approve the transaction under emergency situation, something like a 'natural disaster' circumstances.
There are talks that the long-delayed commencement work on the Twin Tower block would not be able to start because the ill-fated old tower block of QEH couldn't be demolished. However, this is a lame excuse and certainly unacceptable. It's only a matter of wanting to do it or not. Someones high-up there should have mercy on Sabahan and deliver us the long-awaited full-fleged general hospital as quickly as possible.
Now that two months have passed, nothing is being done on the renovation, and further more, nothing also being done on the twin tower adjacent the Specialist building at the present QEH site. Time is lost, so are lives, inevitably. The government is simply too slow!
Is this the performance that we can accept in this land? Is this the KRA (Key Result Area) that the federal government has been talking about? I would be interested to see the KPI (Key Performance Index) of the various officials score on the QEH situation.
I think federal must treat the situation in QEH as special because the situation is truly extraordinary and therefore requiring special handling by PM himself.
CM Musa indirectly indicated that the state is not happy with the federal of its handling of the QEH fiasco.
Will the State of Sabah continue to be a sustainable ‘fixed asset’ for BN? The outlook is bad especially for MCA Sabah whose Vice President Datuk Liow is the Minister of Health! Not only that, it's State Liaison Chief, YB Datuk Khoo, Kepayan State Assemblyman, who is the Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister Department, also an incharge of the state medical affairs in the CM department! The outcome of the QEH in the next 1-2 years will definitely have some bearings on the result of the next general election in Sabah.
It's therefore of utmost urgency to resolve the QEH as quickly as possible; well, at least, it should be seen progressively being resolved. And, it's time that the federal displays its competency and, most importantly - sincerity.
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