Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai has been accused of insulting the intelligence of the people in Sabah by maintaining that the health care services in the state were in a good shape.

On the contrary, said Sabah Progressive Party (Sapp) information chief Chong Pit Fah, the health crisis in the state was chaotic and never-ending with the government slow in handling the matter.

queen elizabeth hospital kota kinabalu He said problems started right after the Queen Elizabeth Hospital's ( photo ) main tower block was declared unsafe late last year. That had forced patients to be evacuated and relocated to the other district hospitals as well as the Sabah Medical Centre (SMC).

He said this has robbed city's residents of the basic necessary health care services for more than seven months as the QEH was the only main referral hospital for the state.

"As such, Sapp was right for putting up the 'Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) Crisis billboard and counter' at the party's headquarters in Kota Kinabalu," he said.

sapp hospital billboard 010602009 The billboard also has a counter to track the number of days Kota Kinabalu has been without a proper public hospital.

However the billboard has become a sensitive issue with health minister Liow taking an exception to it. He also accused Sapp of gaining political mileage through health issue.

"It is wrong to say that there is no general hospital in Kota Kinabalu. The ministry has taken a lot of effort to continue providing health services in Sabah," Liow had said.

Just a reminder

But Chong rebutted in a statement today that the billboard was put up to serve as a terse reminder to the government over the plight of Kota Kinabalu residents and the people of Sabah over the pressing issue.

He said that the lack of a proper referral hospital must be solved urgently.

"The billboard also aims to remind the people of the dire consequence that they might face should they fall sick or become seriously ill," he added.

Chong, whose party had left Barisan Nasional last year and remains independent in the state and federal level, added that the newly introduced Keys Performance Index (KPI) was timely to ensure a better delivery of government minister's and their ministries.

"The performance of the Health Ministry as well as the state health department on health care services all over Sabah must be measured via the KPI. The rakyat would be happy with this system," he added.

He also challenged the federal government to disclose the surprise surge of the price to purchase the Sabah Medical Centre at Luyang in Kota Kinabalu.

Did Najib make a mistake?

He said tax payers must be given full details of the purchase as it involved huge amounts of funds, which runs into millions.

"Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had recently said the purchase involved RM245 million but all of sudden the health minister announced the actual cost is RM280 million," he said.

Chong said there must be reasons behind the extra RM35 million and the rakyat must be informed the reason for the increase.

liow tiong lai interview 260408 05 Liow ( right ) in his visit to Kota Kinabalu on May 29 had said that the federal cabinet decided that the actual cost was RM280 million.

Liow had also announced that another RM90 million was needed to upgrade the private hospital.

"We hope Liow is not trying to tell the rakyat that Najib had made mistake," Chong said.

Najib had on May 5 announced the purchase of the SMC as measures to overcome congestion at the Hospital Queen Elizabeth (QEH), where main block has been declared unsafe.