Press Statement By Julian Tan：
Dr. Sim should speak the truth about Petra Jaya hospital and not misleading the public by blaming the PH federal government. PH federal government did the very things that SUPP failed and will not have the guts to do. That is to put a stop to sick projects that had cost Sarawakians hundreds of millions of ringgit.
Dr. Sim, in his Facebook, stated that, should the Petra Jaya Hospital been completed by now, “…will provide another 300 beds plus all the support facilities”. Amidst the current COVID19 situation in Sarawak that filled up our existing hospitals’ capacity fast and the need to set up field hospitals across the state.
At least Dr. Sim understood the consequences that now we Sarawakians have to go through due to the delay in completing the Petra Jaya hospital. And we have only SUPP and GPS to blame.
Dr. Sim is the sole SUPP Senator at the Parliament from 2014 to 2018 during the BN government. According to the written reply I received from the Parliament and official statement, the Petra Jaya hospital was initially scheduled for completion in November 2016 at the cost of RM378millions. Still, it was further delayed to Jun 2017, with the cost increased to RM495million. Yet as of June 2017, the project was only 48% completed.
The delay is only the tip of the iceberg. According to the BN government benchmark in building a hospital, 300 beds fully equipped Petra Jaya hospital should only cost around 150mil. Even after factor in inflation and cost increases, it should not be more than 190mil. At 495million, we should be able to get two and not one, 300 beds, well-equipped hospitals, and even that with extra more than 100millions to spare. We have more than enough to purchase state-of-the-art, latest medical equipment and facilities only money can buy.
In DAP Sarawak, we have relentlessly raised up the concerns, especially when dealing with public health care issues in Sarawak. It’s all recorded in the Parliament ‘Hansard’ and media. My question to Dr. Sim is why the deafening silence from SUPP and GPS (BN government then) raising the issue then?
Cleary Sarawakians have been severely short-changed due to SUPP’s failure in protecting Sarawakians’ interest, even after 58yrs governing Sarawak. Stop using public healthcare and hold Sarawakians ransom by promising over cost and building hospitals that take forever to be completed.
We don’t need projects that cost many times more than they should. It’s already becoming a trend here to have projects worth hundreds of millions or billions and, at the end, enriching only the selected few and cronies. Sarawakians deserved better.
Perhaps, Dr. Sim should heed his own advice, stop playing politics. Perhaps like his peers, he should do more via social media in educating and raising public awareness about the importance of vaccination to overcome vaccine hesitancy.
