Jalan Oya Polyclinic will not be relocated to Teku, says deputy health minister

Lukanisman (in black) and Chieng (in yellow) visiting Jalan Oya Polyclinic on Jan 16, 2024.

SIBU, Jan 16: The Jalan Oya Polyclinic will not be relocated to Teku area as it is far from the town centre.

In confirming this today, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni said Teku is north of the town and if the polyclinic is to be relocated there, people may find it difficult to go there.

“We can’t relocate the polyclinic there due to the distance as it is in north Sibu. The land is for future plan. What we need to do now is to address the (Jalan) Oya Polyclinic where we need the Finance Ministry’s approval for allocation,” he said when visiting the polyclinic.

Lukanisman said the Federal government either build a new polyclinic or relocate the existing one to solve the problems faced by the Oya polyclinic.

“There are few options suggested by Dr Teh Jo Hun (Sibu Health Department head). I will bring these options to the Sarawak Health Department to study,” he said.

Lukanisman said there has been an urgent need to look into these options as the Jalan Oya  Polyclinic which was built more than three decades ago has been declared as unsafe for use by the Public Work Department (JKR).

“We also acknowledge that due to the increasing population of the town, the polyclinic could no longer accommodate the increasing visitors which currently stand at 1,000 per day.

“The number of visitors has shot up as people are more health conscious especially due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

Earlier in the morning, he visited Hospital Sibu to inspect the leak ceiling and to witness the installation of MRI machine costing RM30 mil which was contributed by Sarawak Heart Foundation.

Accompanying him were Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Datuk Michael Tiang and Bukit Assek assemblyman Joseph Chieng. — DayakDaily