Contractors of 23 ‘sick’ projects that fail to meet deadlines will see their contracts terminated, similar to the action taken against those involved in the Petra Jaya Hospital, said Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad.

He said the stern action was necessary to warn contractors and developers who were perceived as being incapable of completing their projects on time.

"These projects will be considered ‘very sick’ (excessive delay) after four warnings are issued and stern action will be taken against them, similar to what we did in Petra Jaya.

"I will meet the developers and if they still fail to deliver, we will hand the projects to the Public Works Department," he told reporters after attending a health forum organised by the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (Asli) in Kuala Lumpur today.

Earlier, the Health Ministry was reported to be monitoring at least 23 sick projects nationwide that were classified as sick or ‘red’, that were behind schedule.

Dzulkefly said he had also submitted the proposal to the cabinet to fire contractors who failed to complete projects on time and it was agreed unanimously.

Any action to terminate the contract would be in accordance with the law and the standard operating procedures, he said.

In his opening speech at the event, Dzulkefly also pointed out that most of the delayed projects were only 34 percent completed.

"Most of the projects were awarded through direct negotiation to developers with no track record whatsoever, and we can no longer accept this practice," he said.

- Bernama