DAP’s Chong Eng said the 40-bed, RM88 million hospital on which construction began in 2012 was supposed to have been completed in 2015 but it was stalled due to reported “contractor failures”.
The Pakatan Harapan women’s wing chief said that despite extensions given to contractors to complete the project by 2020, the hospital is yet to be completed.
Chong said the hospital project was red-flagged by the auditor-general in his 2016 annual report, citing the appointment of an “unqualified contractor” as among the reasons behind the failure to complete the project.
“It is time for the PM to look into the project as his priority, and no further delays should be tolerated as his Bera parliamentary constituency is without a district hospital. Those in Bera have to go to Temerloh, which is 45km away, for treatment.
“I hope the people of Bera will get to enjoy the benefits of having a prime minister from their constituency with a new hospital at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said in a statement.
Chong, citing news reports, said the hospital project was 57% ready as of December 2016. A more recent Bernama report in 2019 stated the project was 90% ready.
The contractor of the hospital was terminated in December 2016 for being unable to deliver the project on time according to specifications. Work on the hospital was also affected by floods in 2014, a Pahang executive councillor told Berita Harian four years ago.
The auditor-general revealed in 2016 that one of seven “unqualified” contractors was appointed to carry out the project on the assertion of the finance ministry.
This was made against the public works department’s strong objection against all seven contractors and a call for an open tender.
The Bera hospital was planned to serve 92,000 people within the district and relieve the overcrowding at the Temerloh Hospital. A check on the works ministry website showed a tender was called for the building and related works to the Bera hospital last November.
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