Sabah ruling coalition partner Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) has crossed swords with its former coalition partner Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) over the controversial issue of the proposed new private hospital through the conversion of Wisma Khidmat in Kota Kinabalu.

Responding to Sapp’s hostile reaction to the proposal by the Sabah government, PBS supreme council member, John Masabal, said Sapp is in fact adopting “a stand denying Sabahans the benefit of better healthcare services” which is unforgivable.

“What is Sapp 's actual intention in denouncing the ability of the state and its agency in a noble plan?” he asked

“Does Sapp think only the SMC group is capable of constructing hospitals for subsequent disposal to the government?”

“He hopes the political stand in this issue taken by Sapp has nothing to do with any interested party in SMC,’ said Masabal, who is also PBS Moyog chief.

chong pit fah sapp info chief 121208 He was responding to the recent statement by Sapp information chief Chong Pit Fah ( pic, left ) who criticised his PBS counterpart, Johnny Mositun, for describing the Chief Minister Musa Aman's announcement on the proposed private hospital as “the best Kaamatan gift to the people of Sabah”.

Chong had described Mositun’s statement as “outrageous and an insult to the people of Sabah”.

“While the state government currently still has an 18 per cent share in Sabah Medical Centre (SMC), a private medical centre which has now been purchased by the federal government for RM245 million, let's examine who are actually going to benefit from this new private hospital, the people or those who undertake the project?” asked Chong.

Masabal said Chong should not be narrow-minded but to check his facts.

“We are all behind what the PBS information chief outlined in his support of Datuk Seri Musa Aman's announcement of a private hospital to replace the void created by the sale of Sabah Medical Centre to the federal government recently,” Masabal said.

Meant for the rich and famous only

A KK-based blogger, Ronnie Klassen, under the slogan Putt for Change, touching on the same issue, said the state government's credibility, transparency and accountability is now highly suspect.

A private medical centre is meant for the rich and famous and not one who only earns enough to feed his family, he said in his latest blog, adding that by saying what he did, Mositun has put his foot in his mouth.

“Why is the state government so adamant in wanting to convert Wisma Khidmat into a private hospital, when even the federal government were not in favour of it in the first place?"

The blogger said the state government should explain to the people and come out clean and not twist facts and speak in riddles.

“The best Kaamatan gift that the state government can give to the people is to stop hoodwinking the people,” he added.