NO work has begun on a project to upgrade the 100-year-old Pontian hospital, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng, despite the initiative being announced two years ago.
The government backbencher said the RM150mil project had been announced under Budget 2023.
“The project aimed to build two new four-storey blocks that could accommodate 150 beds.
“The proposed upgrading was also announced by the Johor Mentri Besar in Pontian last year, saying that RM500,000 was spent on its design.
“But two years have passed and no sign of work has begun at the site. This is causing confusion among residents in Pontian,” he said when debating Budget 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
He said there were now claims that the project had been cancelled as it was not listed under the 10th, 11th or 12th Malaysia Plan.“So, what is the status of the project?” he asked.
On another matter, Wee questioned the effectiveness of the special strike force to tackle foreigners trading illegally at wholesale markets in Kuala Lumpur.
Although enforcement operations and seizures had been carried out, he said the foreigners returned the next day to carry on trading at the wholesale markets.
“How many arrests of foreign nationals have been made by the strike force at wholesale markets in Kuala Lumpur?” he said.
The Kuala Lumpur strike force unit, which comes under the Federal Territories Department, was formed early this year to tackle various security and public order issues in the city.
Wee also suggested a more comprehensive approach to tackle the rise of urban poverty.
He said a study by Khazanah Research Institute this year revealed that urban poverty had risen to 4.5% of urban households in 2022 from 3.8% in 2019.
He said Kuala Lumpur had the highest number of urban poor at 6,774 families, followed by Kuala Muda (5,229 families) and Kota Kinabalu (5,117 families).
He said cash aid from the government alone would not solve the problem of urban poverty due to the pressures of living in the city.
