Hospital plan for Wisma Khidmat

NST: KOTA KINABALU: Committed to overcoming the critical shortage of hospital beds here, the state government through the Sabah Credit Corporation (SCC) will turn the abandoned Wisma Khidmat here into a 250-bed private hospital.
Estimated to cost more than RM100 million, work on the project is expected to begin soon.
"The development plan is ready and we hope to start work on the project as soon as possible," chief minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said after a working visit to the headquarters of the state-owned SCC.
The plan is to make it a well-equipped surgical hospital with all the emergency services.
Abandoned for the past five years, Wisma Khidmat consists a nine-storey office block tower and a four-storey supermarket.
Musa had discussed the proposed take-over of the abandoned building with Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai in March this year as an interim measure to overcome the severe shortage of hospital beds here.
The state capital has been faced with the problem after the tower block at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital was declared unsafe.
Musa, who is also state finance minister, expressed confidence in the SCC's ability to ensure the speedy implementation and completion of the project.
The state government's involvement in the medical services business is not new as it had before this built the Sabah Medical Centre (SMC) in Likas which was later privatised.
The federal government, recognising the need to urgently tackle the State's healthcare needs, recently decided to buy back the SMC for RM245 million.
Announcing the decision during his recent visit here earlier this month, prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the takeover and renovation works at the SMC would be fast-tracked and when completed, an additional 400 beds could be expected.
As a long-term solution, the Federal Government planned to build a new general hospital in Kinarut, about 30km from here.
During the visit to SCC, Musa was briefed by its general manager Datuk Vincent Pung on the consistent growth enjoyed by the company both in profit and assets size.
Pung said for the financial year 2008, SCC reported an audited surplus before tax of RM37.8 million, an increase of RM11.2 million, compared to 2007 results.
Noting that SCC was also known for its Corporate Social Responsibility, having built numerous hostels in the rural areas of Sabah, Musa said the SCC was a fine example for other state-owned companies to emulate.