JAMES RATIB
KOTA KINABALU: Member of the Sugut State Legislative Assembly, Datuk James Ratib said swift action will be taken to deal with the problems that arose following the fire incident that destroyed the Tangkarason Health Clinic, Beluran, Sabah around midnight on Wednesday.
He who is also the Minister of Community Development and People’s Well-being (KPMKR) and Sabah State Health EXCO said that the temporary relocation of health services will be carried out at a location that has been identified.
“So far, we are still waiting for the results of the investigation from the Fire and Rescue Department to identify the cause of the fire. The information obtained shows that Tangkarason Health Clinic is a type 6 Health Clinic.
“As a result of the incident, a total of 2,738 residents in the area had their health services affected, so this matter needs to be dealt with urgently.
“According to the preliminary planning of the village representatives’ discussion, we got a proposal to use the Tangkarason Kg Multipurpose Hall as a temporary replacement clinic,” he said.
James added that in addition to the Tangkarason Health Clinic, there are two other clinics located in the area, namely the Paitan Health Clinic located 29 kilometers from Kg Tangkarason and the Sungai Sungai Health Clinic (50 kilometers).
He added that Actions to build a new clinic will take an estimated 6 months to build the clinic building alone.
“If the construction of the clinic staff quarters is taken into account, it may take 9 months.
“For Level 6 Health Clinics, allocations will be channeled based on discussions and decisions with the Sabah State Health Department (JKNS) and the Malaysian Ministry of Health (KKM).
“Regarding the matter of special allocations to build a clinic in case of a disaster like this, it also depends on the decision of the JKNS and KKM discussions,” he explained.
