Festival air: Najib shaking hands with guests upon his arrival at Pulapol for a breaking of fast ceremony with PDRM personnel. Behind him are Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (in blue) and Khalid (in pink).
KUALA LUMPUR: Plans are afoot to build 15,000 homes for police personnel who face accommodation woes.
The quarters will be built under a land-swap deal proposed by the Home Ministry, which will be presented to the Cabinet soon.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the initiative was taken in view of the urgency for such housing.
“We want to make sure police personnel, for all their commitment and sacrifices, live comfortably. They deserve it,” he said at a breaking of fast with the police corps.
Present were Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.
Earlier in Putrajaya, Najib said Malaysia’s medical tourism industry continued to rake in more income with RM1bil expected to come from travellers this year.
“Malaysia’s share of the medical tourism market has nearly doubled over the last four years. In 2014, it reached 777,000 patients, bringing in RM700mil.
“This year, the figures are expected to rise to 930,000 patients and RM1bil. Compared with one of our neighbouring countries, we still have a long way to go.
“I intend to make this our priority area to enhance our competitiveness in the field of medical tourism,” he said at the launch of a book by the Malaysian Medical Association titled Fifty-Five Years 1959-2014 yesterday.
Najib said the national healthcare system was recognised as among the best in the world, comparable to the West.
On the rising cost of healthcare, Najib said the Government was committed to helping the people cope with it. “Under Budget 2015, we set out to prioritise the well-being of the rakyat and allocated RM23.3bil for healthcare and facilities.”
He said tax relief on expenses incurred for treatment of serious diseases such as cancer, kidney failure and heart attack had been increased, with senior citizens provided with transport to hospitals.
