SHAH ALAM, June 10 — The federal and state governments should explore wakaf land for the more cost-effective construction of public infrastructure, Putra Business School academic Prof Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff said.
He added that this would lower government spending, especially amid global economic uncertainties.
According to him, Budget 2027 could be tighter in terms of infrastructure development allocations, with greater priority expected for the people’s immediate needs.
“This means construction expenditure like hospital construction and such … not that it won’t be done, but it would be postponed.
“There is one more alternative, which is the construction of hospitals on wakaf land, because wakaf land is everywhere including in big cities like Petaling Jaya.
“This is a way to lower costs at the federal level but at the same time fulfil social demand for the people, that’s what I see,” he told Media Selangor recently when asked about the construction of a new Petaling Jaya hospital to cater to a growing population and alleviate overcrowding on existing facilities.
On May 27, the Health Ministry (MOH) announced that a 6ha sports complex, X Park PJ South, in Taman Medan would host the new hospital.
Razman said the land acquisition process, which concerns a private company, would involve large investments and affect national expenditure, so alternatives like wakaf land must be prioritised with cooperation from the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS).
“I (am of the view) that alternatives like wakaf land should be prioritised first, which means that instead of spending a lot to buy commercial land, the alternative is not to find land sold at a high price; look for wakaf land first,” he added.
Earlier, the state government welcomed a recommendation to build a new 500-bed, vertical-concept Petaling Jaya hospital.
The same vertical concept was executed with Ampang Hospital, which requires less land area and optimises MOH spending.
