Mohamed Khaled (centre) presenting a gift to Johor Media Club and Gabungan Kelab Media Malaysia (GKMM) president Mohamad Fauzi Ishak at the event on Saturday.
JOHOR BARU: The first phase of the Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM) Teaching Hospital Complex is expected to be completed within five years, says Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
The Higher Education Minister said that the project will be placed in Sedili, Kota Tinggi, to provide better healthcare facilities in rural areas besides conducting research on diseases.
“We expect the design and planning process to start next year before we can see any groundwork. The design alone will take time, and we expect the first phase will be completed within five years.
“It is the same when we announced the development of the Pasir Gudang Hospital a few years ago. The people expect that once the announcement is made, the contractors will start development immediately, it does not work that way.
“There are processes that we need to go through, from the planning and design to the land surveillance, identification and the tender process,” he added.
He said this when met by reporters after the Higher Education Ministry Dinner with the Johor Media at the Renaissance Hotel here on Saturday (Oct 21).
Mohamed Khaled shared that having a teaching hospital that is not located right next to its university is not something new and has been done at other universities such as Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIA).
“USM Hospital is located in Kota Baru, Kelantan, while UIA Hospital is located in Kuantan, Pahang.
“It is made that way because we wanted a catchment area; if we put it in the Klang Valley, we already have Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and other private universities.
“So the background of the patients will almost be the same, but in Sedili, we can get to know better the health issues that affect Felda residents, fishermen, and the rural community in general, which will be an added value to the hospital,” he explained.
There are two phases of development for the project, he added.
With the government announcement on the development of Usim Hospital, Mohamed Khaled said that the teaching hospital ecosystem is now complete and hopes that it will help produce more health experts in the future.
On Oct 13, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced an allocation worth RM938mil for the development of Usim Teaching Hospital Complex Phase 1 in Kota Tinggi.
