GEORGE TOWN, June 21 — The Penang Prison should be relocated to Jawi as previously planned to make space for the Penang Hospital’s expansion, Jelutong MP RSN Rayer said today.

He said the Penang Hospital currently does not have ample space for expansion so the prison facility nearby should be relocated as soon as possible.

"The present site where the Penang Prison is located now could be used to build a new modern and spacious hospital for Penangites,” he said in a statement issued today.

He said Penang is one of the highest contributors in terms of national tax revenue collection to the Inland Revenue Board and that it deserves a better and modern government hospital.

He said it was previously proposed that the prison facility be relocated to Jawi so Putrajaya could expedite this plan.

The Penang Hospital is one of the oldest hospitals in Malaysia with many of its wards and clinics now overcrowded, he said.

Rayer said the Accident and Emergency Ward is cramped and doctors are forced to work within limited space.

"Some surgeries can only be performed in the Seberang Jaya or Bukit Mertajam hospital as the wards at the Penang Hospital may not be well equipped with modern facilities required to perform complex surgeries,” he said.

He said the lack of sufficient parking space at the hospital was also another problem.

He said many outpatients, including senior citizens, have to park very far away and walk to the hospital.

"Most outpatients now park at the polo ground opposite the Penang Governor’s residence and walk quite a distance to get their routine checks and treatment,” he said.

He said it was imperative to make space for the hospital to be expanded into a modern and world-class facility befitting the status of Penang’s stature.