Eighteen of 86 infrastructure projects under the Health Ministry were not completed and regarded as "sick projects", said Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

Liow said all the 'sick projects' involved were either new or slated for upgrading and worth RM5 million and below.

mca liao faction briefing penang 221109 liow tiong lai The main factors that caused delays in the completion of 'sick projects' was due to delays in land acquisition or inability of contractors to complete the projects due to various reasons, he said.

"The ministry views the matter very seriously. The failure of appointed contractors to complete the projects was very disappointing," he told reporters after visiting a site earmarked for a Dental Clinic in Jalan Rasah, Seremban, today.

The ministry does not want to take abandoned projects lightly and severe action would be taken against contractors who failed to complete their job, he said.

"They (contractors) will be imposed a penalty of RM3,600 for every delayed day, until the project is completed, and if they still failed, the contractor's services will be terminated and a new contractor appointed," he said.

Still too slow in dispensing medicine

Meanwhile, speaking of the Key Performance Index (KPI), Liow said pharmacies in clinics under the ministry had only achieved 92 percent success in providing efficient services.

T NONE hese clinics still take a long time to dispense medicine to the patients and the ministry views the matter serious as well, he said.

"...But, through my observation while visiting clinics, I have seen an improvement and on average they take less than 30 minutes to complete a transaction," he said.

Since the objective of the ministry is to achieve a 100 percent KPI, all clinics must work towards achieving that status, he said.

- Bernama