M’sia Health Ministry probes claim Sultanah Aminah Hospital has no fire safety cert

JOHOR BARU — The Malaysian Health Ministry is to investigate an allegation that the Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) does not have a fire safety certificate.

According to a report in Malaysia’s state news agency Bernama, Minister Dr S Subramaniam said he would discuss the matter with the hospital and fire and rescue department.

Because the hospital was built in 1938, it may not have been necessary to have a fire safety certificate back then, Bernama reported the minister as saying, after he paid another visit to the hospital following the fire on Tuesday, which claimed six lives.

Dr Subramaniam said the ministry ensured there was sufficient safety and fire protection equipment every time there were changes or addition of services.

He said HSA had been upgraded many times, with new buildings put up. It had also undergone inspections and approvals from the fire and rescue department.

However, Dr Subramaniam also said that while fire drills had been conducted before, none had been held recently.

“Fire management and prevention is the responsibility of the consessionaire and they have the clearest standard operation procedure for the management of fire outbreaks,” he added.

“Things have always been in place; one is preventive assessment on a periodic level and reporting on it. The second is measures taken in case of fires. But in my briefing just now, I emphasised the need for us to ensure that everybody’s concern in the entire set-up follows the particular precaution which has been established 100 per cent.”

According to the hospital website, HSA was built in 1938 to replace the earliest hospital in the district built in 1882. It provides 21 clinical services, nine clinical support services, five non-clinical support services and seven units under the administration of the hospital. MALAY MAIL ONLINE