Plans to establish a Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) Hospital are now underway, with a special task force formed to drive the initiative forward.
MARA Chairman Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the hospital would not only serve as a teaching hospital, but also as a centre for healthcare excellence and a catalyst for Bumiputera economic development.
Dr Asyraf outlines why MARA should have its own hospital
In a statement, Dr Asyraf said MARA already has much of the infrastructure and expertise needed to support the establishment of its own hospital. This includes 160 UniKlinik, UniFarmasi and UniDental branches, as well as UniKL Royal College of Medicine Perak (RCMP), which trains doctors, and Kolej Poly-Tech MARA (KPTM), which trains nurses.
He outlined five main reasons why he believes the time is right for MARA to develop its own hospital. One of them is MARA’s extensive education ecosystem, with UniKL RCMP offering healthcare programmes such as nursing, pharmacy, physiotherapy and other related fields.
He added that clinical training and hands-on experience at a teaching hospital are also needed to complete the UniKL RCMP ecosystem.
Another reason, he said, is that MARA already has almost all the components needed for a healthcare ecosystem, from medical education through UniKL RCMP to TVET and technology education through KKTM (now TVETMARA), including its campuses in Lenggong and Ledang. It also has networks in entrepreneurship, financing and industry development.
“MARA’s strength is that we don’t only have medical institutions. We also have TVET, engineering, technology, entrepreneurship, financing and industry networks. A hospital can be a place where all these components come together,” he said.
Boosting Bumiputera healthcare talent
Dr Asyraf said MARA’s existing medical, engineering and technology programmes could all be brought together through the proposed hospital. This includes UniKL MESTECH’s Biomedical Science programme, as well as various technology disciplines offered at other UniKL campuses.
The MARA Chairman added that the hospital could also serve as a living laboratory for MARA students and researchers, allowing them to gain hands-on experience while developing new technologies and solutions for the healthcare industry.
“MARA High Skills College (KKTM) students could be involved in hospital equipment and systems technology, while UniKL RCMP students could undergo clinical training. Other UniKL campuses could develop AI (artificial intelligence), IoT (Internet of Things), robotics and medical devices, while MARA entrepreneurs could supply products and services to the ecosystem.
“The network of 160 U.n.i KLINIK, U.n.i Farmasi and U.n.i Dental branches could also play an important role, as MARA already has a frontline healthcare network through clinics owned by Bumiputera professional entrepreneurs under the ProSPEC programme,” he said.
Furthermore, Dr Asyraf said that establishing a MARA Hospital would be a natural extension of MARA’s role in developing Bumiputera talent, entrepreneurship and strategic ownership.
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