Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim (right) and Datuk Mansor Othman (left) shake hands after signing the lease agreement to build Penang Islamic Hospital in George Town February 22, 2019. ― Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

GEORGE TOWN, Feb 22 — The proposed RM250 million Penang Islamic Hospital is scheduled to be completed by 2022, said Yayasan Islam Pulau Pinang (YIPP) chairman Datuk Mansor Othman.

He said the hospital will be sharia certified and that works on the project will start on Monday.

“The initial cost was RM200 million when it was proposed in 2016 but it has increased to RM250 million and this included the cost of medical equipment,” he told a press conference during the signing of a land lease agreement with Penang Islamic Religious Council (MAINPP) for the hospital.

The first Islamic hospital in the northern region will be a 15-storey building with a total of 600 carpark bays located on 2.54 acres of ‘wakaf’ land.

Mansor said 20 beds in the hospital will be specially allocated for the poor who could not afford private medical care.

The hospital will be a full-fledged private hospital and it will be certified sharia-compliant, he added.

MAINPP president Datuk Abdul Malik Abul Kassim said the hospital will have a ‘wakaf’ and ‘zakat’ concept.

“The hospital will incorporate Islamic values in all aspects,” he said.

The hospital will have a total of 200 beds and will be located on a piece of land in Bayan Baru.

MAINPP signed a 66-year lease agreement with YIPP which will end in 2085.

Mansor said YIPP has appointed Hospital Pakar An Nur Hasanah Sdn Bhd as the operator to manage the hospital and already obtained approval in 2016.

He said the planning approval for the project was also obtained in July 2018.

“With the signing of the agreement today, we can start work immediately,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malik said Zakat Pulau Pinang exceeded its target collection for 2018.

“Our target was to collect RM103 million for 2018 but we collected RM114 million, more than what we target,” he said.

He said the zakat collection in 2017 was RM101 million.

“Our target for 2019 is to collect RM125 million,” he said.

Zakat Pulau Pinang also signed a memorandum of agreement with Khalaz Inspired Sdn Bhd today in a collaboration to train Muslim entrepreneurs in online business.