New hospital a top priority

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Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar

Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar

LUNDU: The top priority for the people here is a new hospital to replace the old one which is more than 50 years old, says Santubong MP Dato Sri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.

He said the new hospital project topped the wish list of the local people as well as for himself as an MP of the area.

“You will be surprised that the hospital, which was highlighted by The Borneo Post yesterday, is actually our top priority project for Lundu.

“We, my political secretary Datuk Wan Hamzah Wan Paie and I, will be working together with the state and federal governments to identify the best mechanism to get the project started,” Wan Junaidi told the media at Lundu District Office after the nomination for Tanjong Datu by-election closed yesterday.

Wan Junaidi, who is also Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said he would relay the message to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on the urgency of setting up a new hospital in the district.

He said the new hospital would be a part of the master plan to develop Lundu into a new satellite town, which would include a new police station, proper border demarcation and marine boundaries with Indonesia.

“The development of Lundu has all this while been on ad hoc basis. But with this master plan which will be launched soon, Lundu will be developed based on the Kota Samarahan model which is an education hub where Unimas, UiTM and Tun Abdul Razak Teachers’ Training Institute are located.

“What is different than Kota Samarahan is that we have eco-tourism potential in Lundu which we will harness to the fullest.”

To achieve this, Wan Junaidi said basic infrastructure such as the Pan Borneo Highway and the water main from Batu Kitang will further boost Lundu and Sematan as top tourism destination in the state.

On the Tanjong Datu by-election BN candidate Datin Patinggi Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu, Wan Junaidi, who is also the director of operations, believed that she would be able to achieve a landslide victory similar to what had been achieved by her late husband Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem.

“Both STAR and PBDS Baru candidates will not be able to make any inroads here because they are outsiders,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg stressed that the state BN would want to see Adenan’s widow Jamilah continue with her late husband’s plan to develop Tanjong Datu.

“I am sure she can pursue what has been planned by the late chief minister. What is important is that there is continuity to his legacy. And God willing, we hope she will get an even bigger majority.”

Abang Johari also said the BN manifesto for the by-election would be launched in the next few days.

On whether Jamilah will be considered for a full ministerial post if she won, Abang Johari brushed it aside saying what was important now was for the BN to win the by-election.