SIBU: Pelawan assemblyman David Wong wants the newly-formed Perikatan Nasional coalition government to proceed with the heart unit here, which was approved by the previous Pakatan Harapan government.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday, he said he and Bukit Assek assemblywoman Irene Chang had made a proposal to the federal government for the setting-up of the two facilities in July, 2018.
“The town needed the facilities so that the people would no longer have to go to Sarawak General Hospital in Kota Samarahan for treatment of heart and cancer-related problems.
“We went to Putrajaya to submit our proposal to the then Deputy Health Minister Lee Boon Chai and then Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad. We received a feedback from the ministry on April 11,
2019 saying that they had accepted our proposal and the project is slated for implementation under the 12th Malaysia Plan (2021-2025),” he said.
After that, they again looked for the then Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in November, 2019 to push for funds.
“Everything went according to our plan. We even had the drawing of the building and we worked very hard with the then Sibu Hospital director Dr Ngian Hie Ung. We have engineers and architect firm. We worked so hard for this heart unit,” Wong said.
The hospital, he continued, had also sent its staff for training to man the facility.
With the new federal government, he said they were unsure whether the project would be able to proceed as planned.
“But we hope that the new government will put the agenda of the people as top priority. That means, do not cancel the heart unit programme,” Wong added.
