BN used hospital hall for politics, says NGO

An official at Sungai Buloh Hospital confirms the allegation.

PETALING JAYA: A local NGO has accused Barisan Nasional of misusing a government hospital for political activities.

Furnishing photographs as proof, People’s Welfare and Rights Coalition (POWER) chairman S Gobi Krishnan said Selangor BN on Monday launched its Subang parliamentary election machinery at an auditorium in Sungai Buloh Hospital.

In one photograph, a crowd of people in BN T-shirts are seen gathered in a hall that has a projection screen displaying the words “Majlis Pelancaran Jentera Pilihanraya Barisan Nasional Subang P107″.

Gobi said he obtained the photograph from BN liaison deputy chief Noh Omar’s Tweeter account. He said he had confirmed that the venue was the auditorium at the hospital.

Another photograph shows what Gobi claimed were the same participants outside the hospital. He said he witnessed the event and took photographs.

“I am shocked that BN can misuse a hospital for such activities,” he said. “A hospital is a place for the rakyat to get medical attention. It is not appropriate for hospitals to be used for political activities.”

He is seeking an explanation from the Health Ministry.

“POWER would like to ask the Health Minister, Liow Tiong Lai, whether such activities are permitted by law. The hospital auditorium was built using taxpayer money for activities that are related to health care. So how did it come to be used for an activity of a political party?”

A spokesman for Sungai Buloh Hospital confirmed that BN booked the auditorium for the night of Feb 27.

“We do rent out our auditoriums to third parties, depending on suitability and the availability,” he said. “If it is from outside of the Health Ministry, we charge a standard rental fee of RM200 per hour.”

The spokesperson spoke on condition of anonymity, saying she feared repercussions.

“We were not sure of the reasons the hall was used that night,” she said. “We just provide the venue. We rarely, if ever, rent out to political parties. We usually do allow government agencies and NGOs to use the hall.”