By JAW
KOTA KINABALU: The government is urged
to explore the possibility of constructing a new hospital in Sandakan within the Libaran Parliamentary constituency in light of the district’s rapid development and population growth.
In making the call, Libaran MP Datuk Suhaimi Haji Nasir said that the hospital will allow the people in the Libaran Parliamentary constituency to have access to both full and closest medical facilities without having to travel to the Duchess of Hospital. Kent Sandakan,
which can no longer accommodate the growing number of patients.
He said that in addition to patients from other districts like Kinabatangan Beluran and Telupid, the Duchess of Kent Sandakan Hospital currently has to accommodate a large number of patients from three parliamentary constituencies in the city of Sandakan.
“It is appropriate to build a new second hospital and place it in the Libaran Parliamentary constituency as the condition of this hospital worsens and there is a shortage of specialist doctors such as cardiologists, surgeons, and anaesthetists,” he said during the 2024 Budget debate in Parliament in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
According to Suhaimi, who is also Libaran UMNO chief, the construction of a new hospital in the Libaran area not only reduces the congestion in Sandakan city, but the congestion at the Duchess of Kent hospital in Sandakan also suffers from congestion due to its limited area, including the area for parking vehicles.
On the 2024 budget, Suhaimi said that the unity government demonstrated a high level of commitment by increasing the development allocation to Sabah, which was as much as RM 6.6 billion compared to the 2023 budget, which amounted to RM 6.5 billion.
The rate of increase in this allocation is in line with efforts to strengthen the 1963 agreement (MA63), Suhaimi said.
He expressed his hope that the state government would utilise the entire approved allocation to address the primary problems facing Sabah’s citizens, particularly those related to basic infrastructure like electricity, water, and roads.
