KOTA TINGGI, Nov 14 — The construction project of the Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) Teaching Hospital (HPU), valued at RM900 million, is expected to commence next year in Sedili here in an effort to provide health services and conduct medical research focusing on rural residents.
Kota Tinggi member of parliament Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that the project he proposed while serving as Higher Education minister has been approved by the government and is expected to take three to four years to complete.
Mohamed Khaled, who is now Defence Minister, said that the contractor for the project has been selected and he hopes that the related processes, including the approval of the construction plan, can be expedited to allow preliminary work to begin next year.
“This university hospital plays an important role not only in producing doctors, not only in producing medical specialists, but also, importantly, in conducting research.
“This is because 70 per cent of new knowledge discoveries occur in the world or the health sector,” he said at a press conference after launching the Madani Adopted School Programme at Sekolah Kebangsaan Panchor here today.
Mohamed Khaled said that currently most teaching hospitals are concentrated in the Klang Valley, including Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and MAHSA, with research likely more focused on health issues of the urban population.
He said that the construction of the USIM HPU would also make it the first university teaching hospital in Johor, thereby expanding medical research facilities to the state.
“If we look at Universiti Sains Malaysia, its hospital is located in Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, while Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia is in Kuantan, Pahang. University hospitals are also located in Terengganu, Sabah and Sarawak, but there is none in Johor yet.
“That’s why, when I was the Higher Education minister, I suggested that this teaching hospital be built in rural areas, especially near Felda settlements and fishing communities, because we want to understand diseases and discover new knowledge related to community health in those areas,” he said.
Mohamed Khaled also said that the selection of Sedili as the project location is also expected to bring changes to the development of the area, in addition to opening opportunities for more comprehensive research activities involving rural communities.
Regarding the project implementation date, he said efforts will be made to expedite the related processes so that the ground-breaking ceremony can be held as early as next year.
“This project will bring a change to the Sedili area and aligns with our vision of the appropriate form of development to be brought to the area,” he added. — Bernama
