KUALA LUMPUR: A new hospital will be built in Bandar Enstek, Nilai, Negri Sembilan, to meet the healthcare needs of residents in the Seremban district while easing congestion at the Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the proposed hospital in the northern Seremban corridor was appropriate in view of the area's rapid development, which had directly contributed to a sharp increase in population.
He said the decision to build the new hospital followed the Health Ministry (MOH)'s review of the proposed Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital 2 (HTJ2) project in Rasah, as well as discussions with Negeri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun on June 16.
"The state government has also identified two 50-acre (20-hectare) parcels of land owned by the Federal Lands Commissioner in the area.
"Accordingly, MOH will inspect both sites in the near future to determine the most suitable location before submitting an application for land-use conversion to the Department of the Director General of Lands and Mines," he said.
Dr Dzulkefly said this in a written parliamentary reply uploaded to the Dewan Rakyat website in response to a question from Cha Kee Chin (PH-Rasah) on the latest developments concerning the proposed HTJ2 project.
He said that upon approval of the land-use conversion application, preliminary works on the project would commence immediately, including land surveying, soil investigation, preparation of the conceptual design, project cost estimation and the Value Assessment (VA) exercise.
According to him, Aminuddin had also agreed for a 36.748 acres (about 14 hectares) Federal Reserve land in Bandar Seremban to be alienated for future healthcare projects, including an additional block for the existing Tuanku Ja'afar Hospital and a Centre of Excellence (COE).
To a question from Suhaizan Kaiat (PH-Pulai) on the government's initiatives to attract Malaysian medical and healthcare professionals working abroad to return and serve in the country, Dr Dzulkefly said the government through TalentCorp had implemented the Returning Expert Programme (REP).
"The REP provides special incentives, including exemptions from income tax and excise duty on the purchase of locally manufactured vehicles,” he said.
Dr Dzulkefly said the highest number of REP applications in the healthcare sector came from Malaysians working in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Australia, with medical specialists and doctors accounting for the largest group of applicants.
On the recruitment of foreign healthcare personnel, he said foreign doctors and nurses had long been allowed to serve in Malaysia, subject to strict regulation by the Malaysian Medical Council and the Malaysian Nursing Board to ensure the quality of healthcare services.
He said MOH currently appoints non-citizen medical specialists to meet service needs in critical disciplines and specific locations, while also engaging non-citizen graduate medical officers who are permanent residents and spouses of Malaysian citizens to undergo housemanship training at the ministry’s facilities.
"As for the recruitment of foreign nurses to serve in MOH, the matter is still being studied in terms of its feasibility with the relevant ministries and agencies," he added. - Bernama
