THE long-awaited public hospital in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, faces severe developmental bottlenecks on location issues.
The proposed site in Taman Medan − currently home to the X Park PJ South sports complex − is private property.
Building the 500-bed facility there from scratch would cost an estimated RM800mil to RM1.4bil, claimed Taman Medan assemblyman Dr Afif Bahardin.
While the Selangor government wants to fast-track the project, he has warned that the plan might be stalled for years if an agreement could not be reached with the landowner.
Meanwhile, the site also sits directly in the path of an unresolved highway project.
This has led to calls for Health Ministry to build the hospital on underutilised government- owned land instead.
Various hurdles
“If this were Jengka in Pahang, for example, looking for empty land is fine.
“But this is Petaling Jaya,” said Dr Afif.
“How do they expect to secure funds to buy prime, expensive land from a private owner to build a government hospital?
“We should not waste five years only to realise that there are no funds,” he said.
Dr Afif told StarMetro that there was also a legal snag.
“Because the proposed land is privately held under leasehold terms, the state authority must invoke Land Acquisition Act 1960 (LAA) to legally force the acquisition for public use.
“While Article 13 of the Federal Constitution guarantees adequate compensation at market rates, landowners can challenge the award in the High Court, potentially dragging the process out for years.
“Forced acquisition can drag on for a very long time if it goes to court,” he elaborated.
StarMetro met with Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohamad Zahri Samingon, who said if this proposed site was unsuitable, other avenues for sites could be explored.
“We are currently negotiating with the developer in question to acquire the land for the purpose of building the hospital,” he said.
Highway deadlock
Compounding the land impasse is an unresolved infrastructure headache, namely the alignment of the proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) elevated highway.
Dr Afif said the junction connecting New Pantai Expressway to the sports complex sat directly on the proposed highway alignment, which the Selangor government had yet to definitively approve.
“I have mentioned to the Mentri Besar that if we support this hospital, the surrounding service roads and accessibility must be heavily upgraded,” Dr Afif said.
“I do not oppose the PJD Link if it means securing proper connectivity for the hospital.
“It must be built as a total package – if you build a massive hospital with poor roads, it simply won’t function,” he added.
Viable alternatives
To circumvent costly land buy-backs, Dr Afif is urging the Federal Government to look at existing, underutilised institutional land within Petaling Jaya that can be repurposed within two to three years.
He identified two immediate alternative sites: the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) satellite campus in Jalan Othman and the old International Islamic University Malaysia campus in Section 16 which currently hosts Lembaga Pemegang Amanah Kolej Islam Malaya.
“The ministry is already talking about a vertical hospital concept, similar to Hospital Ampang.
“If so, they can easily tailor it to smaller, existing government lands.
“We have a lot of underutilised university land, abandoned warehouses and factories in Petaling Jaya,” he said.
This sentiment was backed by Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lim Yi Wei, who said in a statement in May that land administration matters must be executed quickly to lock the project in.
She added that the final site must be officially rezoned for a hospital under the Institutional and Public Facilities Zone.
Lim had said that older Petaling Jaya folk might remember Kontena Nasional Bhd land being discussed as a potential site.
She quoted Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung, who had said that two areas were identified as potential options in May 2025 but were dropped a year later due to cost constraints.
These were the Kontena Nasional land and an area close to the Sunway Toll plaza on Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas).
Healthcare crunch
The urgency for a dedicated public hospital in Petaling Jaya has intensified following policy shifts at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC).
The hospital revised its fees across all services in January last year, according to a local health news portal, citing the rising cost of medical consumables.
Dr Afif said the increase has hit lower-income communities hard.
“Certain communities cannot afford the higher fees and so they have to seek treatment further away from Petaling Jaya, at Hospital Shah Alam or Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL),” he said.
“When Hospital Shah Alam was built, its purpose was to decant UMMC and Klang hospital (Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah).
“Now, Petaling Jaya residents are clogging up the Shah Alam hospital.”
Moving forward, local representatives are calling for broader democratic consultation rather than top-down administrative planning.
Dr Afif had requested Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran to coordinate a joint meeting between all Petaling Jaya MPs, assemblymen and stakeholders to present their structural aspirations directly to Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
“The need for a hospital in Petaling Jaya is now, said the assemblyman.
“The population in Taman Medan alone exceeds 100,000 people.
“We give our full commitment to the federal and state initiative, but options must be weighed openly so that we can make an informed, sustainable decision for the public,” Dr Afif concluded.
Residents’ concerns
The proposed hospital site sits opposite Taman Buana Perdana in PJS3, an area plagued by recurring flash floods since the devastating disaster of December 2021.
Civil engineer Naveen Pathmanathan, 51, a resident for almost 20 years, said traffic flow in the neighbourhood was already choked by ongoing development.
“How will they manage the current flood mitigation, and have they done a proper study on the drain capacity?
“Is the design catered for the next 50 to 100 years?” he asked.
Naveen also questioned the necessity of placing the facility in Taman Medan when there was a government clinic (Klinik Kesihatan) a stone’s throw from the site, alongside UMMC’s relative proximity.
Resident N. Dorairaj, 65, expressed deep concern over traffic congestion and lack of public transportation routes connecting the site to low-income folk travelling from Puchong and Shah Alam.
“These are people who are not wealthy, who rely entirely on public transport to get to a hospital,” he said.
Dorairaj pointed out that a lack of parking would be exacerbated by incoming high-density condominium developments in the area.
“The government will need to build a designated complex for hospital parking.
“Accessibility is also a major issue for families visiting loved ones.
“If I were a patient’s next of kin from outstation, where would I stay nearby?” he asked.
“The authorities need to look into all these logistical aspects before building the hospital,” he said.
