SEREMBAN: The Negri Sembilan government wants a new public hospital built in Seremban, says Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun.
The Mentri Besar said this is necessary due to congestion at the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital (TJH).
Aminuddin said he conveyed this personally to both Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
"We are prepared to provide land for a new hospital in Seremban. We would also welcome additional blocks around TJH but what is most important is that we need additional beds," he said after chairing the state exco meeting at Wisma Negri.
Aminuddin, responding to claims of overcrowding and delays in treatment at the TJH, said this is also due to renovation work being carried out at the emergency department.
He said this could also be due to more people seeking treatment at government facilities, and expressed hope that once this is completed, it will address the congestion issue.
Aminuddin said the state health authorities and TJH have already taken measures to address this by moving all post-mortems to the Rembau Hospital.
"We are also grateful to the ministry as we have a new hospital in Rembau, a new block and additional medical staff for the Kuala Pilah hospital, which also has specialist clinics, and approval for upgrading and renovations at the Port Dickson Hospital. All these will also help reduce patient traffic at TJH," he said.
Separately, Aminuddin expressed hope his detractors would stop spreading lies about him after it was proven that no illegal mining of gold was being carried out in Lenggeng.
"Please check and verify your facts before you make a public statement. It is not good to spread lies as this can cause unnecessary problems," he said.
A clip had gone viral recently where the sender claimed that both Lenggeng assemblyman Datuk Mohd Asna Amin and Aminuddin had received millions of ringgit from gold mined illegally along Sg Lenggeng.
In the clip, the sender claimed that the company carrying out the illegal activity was doing so under the pretext of sand mining.
Aminuddin then ordered the Mineral and Geoscience Department to investigate, and no gold deposits were found in the area.
Asked if he would take legal action against the sender, Aminuddin said he would not but expressed hope his critics would stop resorting to slander.
On another matter, Aminuddin said the state-level Chinese New Year open house will be held at the Grand Lukut hall in Port Dickson from 8pm on Feb 7.
