The proposed 'Khidmat Hospital' not a good idea, says SAPP

KOTA KINABALU, March 13, 2009: The Proposed taking over of the deserted Wisma Khidmat by the State Government to convert it into a general hospital announced by Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai on Monday, may not be practical one and wise decision, said Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) Information Chief, Chong Pit Fah.

He described the proposal as ill-conceived, short sighted and flip-flop.

"The Khidmat Building has been vacated for years for reasons best known to its owner and previous occupants. In the first place, the building was not designed for the purpose of a hospital and is located in a very awkward location with very limited parking spaces," he said in a statement issued here yesterday.

He noted out that the building is approximately 30 odd years old and that many parts of its steel structure could have been badly corroded by chlorine content and no longer safe for occupation, due to the fact that it was built in the age where sea sand was widely used for building construction.

"This is exactly how the QEH (Queen Elizabeth Hospital) problems came about. It would be a costly price to be paid for by Sabahans if same problem were to happen 10 or 20 years later, after the conversion and commission of the Khidmat Building," he said in voicing his concern over the suitability of the building itself, adding that there are set of very stringent requirements and standards to be followed.

He also described the State Government decision as flip-flopping.

"One day, they are talking of building a brand new hospital, and now they plan to buy and convert a 30-years old building into a hospital," he said.

He thus questioned the basis of the decision especially on how could a proper fact based decision vary within days and with such a drastic 'u-turn'.

He called on policy makers not to make decision solely based on political consideration.

"Leave the specialist work to the professionals, in this case the medical planner in Ministry of Health. Politicians should restraint themselves from getting involved in areas where required expert knowledge," he stressed.

Chong, who is also the SAPP Kepayan CLC Chairman urged the Government and Ministry to take a holistic and professional approach in handling the healthcare problem affecting the people of Sabah.

He also censured the Health Minister for playing down the current health crisis facing the people of Sabah, by saying that it was not as bad as what was described by the opposition in the state.

"But, on the other hand, he (Health Minister) and several top officials from the Ministry flew in from Kuala Lumpur on a national Public Holiday to conduct an emergency meeting on the issue with the Chief Minister and his entire Cabinet," he said.

He doubted there would have been swift response and decision had not for SAPP's continuous monitoring of the issue and its repeated calls to both the Federal and the State governments to act on it.