Liow blasts consultant

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MIRI: Minister of Health Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai was yesterday angry to discover structural flaws which have plagued the Tudan Polyclinic for the past few years.

Liow visited the clinic during his rounds to check on government health facilities here to get feedback from his Sarawak counterparts and the people.

“There is a serious structural problem with the building. How can the PMC (project management consultant) approve such a project?” he questioned.

The polyclinic building was due for completion in 2003 but was delayed until 2004. It was fully operational by the end of 2005 and cost a total of RM16.5 million.

Liow blasted the consultant for the oversight which led to many cracks appearing on the walls of the ground floor.

“We must look into the root causes of the problem, whether it’s due to the unstable ground, structural flaws or construction problems,” he said, promising a more detailed report and allocation of funds to rectify the problem.

Infrastructure Development and Communication Assistant Minister Datuk Lee Kim Shin earlier told the media that Sarawak may have medical facilities in terms of buildings that looked nice from outside, but the state lacked the funds for long-term maintenance.

Lee also briefed Liow on the serious shortage of parking spaces at the polyclinic, which caused severe traffic congestion and headaches for the ever-increasing number of patients.

“We will allocate RM200,000 to solve this parking shortage problem,” added Liow, who agreed that it is important not to make patients wait too long in traffic jams.

Also present were Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam; Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water Datuk Seri Peter Chin; and Pujut assemblyman Andy Chia.