PM Anwar announces RM80m heart centre for Sabah
KOTA KINABALU, April 20 — Sabah will have its own branch of the National Heart Centre, the second largest in the country, to handle the many health issues in the state, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Announcing the set up of the centre today, Anwar said that it will be a special block within the main hospital complex.
“We will send three specialists dedicated to this centre, along with trained assistance. The estimated cost will be RM80 million,” he said during his speech at the national-level Madani Hari Raya open house here.
Currently, the state has to contend with a heart clinic, a non-invasive catheter lab and a cardiothoracic operating theatre with three specialists and 120 nurses.
“I think this is not sufficient for the people of Sabah so we will have a specially dedicated block in the main hospital complex called the National Heart Centre of Sabah, with an allocation of RM80 million,” he said.
He said that the government was aware of the public's healthcare needs, and how many Sabahans had to fly to Peninsular Malaysia to receive advanced care.
Previously, Anwar had provisionally agreed to a cancer centre in Kuching, Sarawak in his Budget 2024 speech.
Anwar, who arrived in Sabah late last night had earlier held a meeting with the PKR state leadership before meeting with chief minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor and then attending the Hari Raya celebrations.
He said among his main concerns during his administration was to tackle the hardcore poor community, which was very prevalent in Sabah.
“We first had numbers of 25,000 but it was reduced to 12,000. Now we are trying to reduce it further to 11,000 and eventually completely eradict it,” he said.
Anwar said that during his meeting he had agreed to upgrade the conditions of existing People's Housing Projects and 80 stalls and small shops which were local mainstays.
“The majority of the country patronises stalls and warungs so we want to make sure they are in good condition. Eighty is a small number to start with but we will work on it,” he said.
The Sabah chapter of open houses is the second out of seven that will be held across the country.
After today, he will be in Melaka on April 22, Kelantan on May 2, Kedah on May 4, Penang on May 5, and Terengganu on May 9.
