THE Bukit Mertajam District Hospital is undergoing expansion works and not relocating, said Member of Parliament for the constituency, Steven Sim Chee Keong.
Sim, who is now the Entrepreneur and Co-operatives Development Minister, said that the Health Ministry and the state plan to double the current 242 beds in the hospital.
There would also be more amenities placed in the hospital, which is now into its 136th year of operating as one of the oldest comprehensive hospitals in the country.
The state will also donate land opposite the BM Rest House area to facilitate the expansion, said Sim in a statement and social media post.
The hospital's visitors' board has since denied a Facebook entry under the name of "Hamly Hadi," that the hospital is relocated to make way for a Hindu shrine, which shares part of the accessway into the healthcare facility.
The green award-winning hospital, for its sustainable initiatives, caters to up to 6,000 patients annually, and the expansion is because it is also now treating the sick from the neighbouring district in Kulim, Kedah.
Sim said that the fake report in the Facebook account is tantamount to sedition, bordering on racial and religious discords.
The visitor’s board has also urged the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to investigate the owner of the account, to take stern action against such fake news and to stop the spread of slander, which can harm the harmony which the country now enjoys.
A delegation from the board has also lodged a police report on the matter. - March 23, 2026
