KUALA LUMPUR: A new hospital will be built in Bandar Enstek, Nilai in Negri Sembilan to meet the healthcare needs of the Seremban district and ease congestion at Hospital Tuanku Jaafar.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (pic), who disclosed this, said the proposed hospital in the northern Seremban corridor was due to the area’s rapid development, which had contributed to a sharp increase in population.
He added that the decision followed the ministry’s review of the proposed Hospital Tuanku Ja’afar 2 (HTJ2) project in Rasah, and discussions with caretaker Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun on June 16.
“The state government has also identified two 20ha parcels of land owned by the Federal Lands Commissioner in the area.
“Accordingly, the ministry will inspect both sites in the near future to determine the most suitable location before submitting an application for land-use conversion to the Lands and Mines director-general,” he said in a written parliamentary reply on latest developments of the proposed HTJ2 project, Bernama reported.
He said upon approval of the land-use conversion application, preliminary work on the project would commence immediately, including land survey, soil investigation, preparation of conceptual design, project cost estimation and the Value Assessment exercise.
Dzulkefly said Aminuddin had also agreed that 14ha of federal reserve land in Bandar Seremban be alienated for future healthcare projects, including an additional block for the existing HTJ and a Centre of Excellence.
On the government’s initiatives to attract Malaysian medical and healthcare professionals working abroad to return and serve here, 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.
He 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 Malaysian Nursing Board to ensure the quality of healthcare services.
He said the ministry currently appoints non-citizen medical specialists to meet service needs in critical disciplines and specific locations, also engaging such 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, the matter is still being studied in terms of its feasibility with the relevant ministries and agencies,” he added.
