Materia Medica Malaysiana

Efforts to put Pandan Hospital project back on tracks
From Utusan News brief

In JOHOR BAHRU, the Health Minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng said his minisry will hold discussions with the Public Works Department (PWD) to find ways to end further delay of the project to build the Pandan Hospital here.

He said the RM557.8 million cancer referral hospital for the southern part of the peninsula was supposed to be completed in July last year.

"Works to build the hospital started in May, 1999 and so far, it has been delayed twice," he told reporters after attending the Johor MCA annual convention here.

Chua said that the discussions hopefully would find ways to resolve the problems.

He said the government wanted the 704-bed and ultra-modern hospital to be operational as soon as possible to provide facilities for the increasing number of cancer patients.

He said some 40,000 new cancer cases were detected in the country each year and it was for this reason that the government wanted to set up the referral hospital.

"We will find out what is causing the project to be delayed," he said.

On the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), he said the ministry would hold a meeting on the matter in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.

"So wait for tomorrow (Monday) ... it will be a complete report," he said.