CIMB Islamic has contributed RM520,000 (US$115,467) to establish the Rumah Rakyat CIMB Islamic halfway house in Langkawi. The halfway house, established in partnership with the Sultanah Maliha Hospital and the Kedah State Health Department under the Malaysian Ministry of Health, will serve as a temporary accommodation facility for Malaysian citizens in the bottom 40% (B40) household income group seeking treatment at the hospital.
“Hospital Sultanah Maliha is the only hospital in Langkawi and is the main referral hospital for residents of Langkawi and the nearby islands, as well as tourists visiting Langkawi,” Dr Othman Warijo, the director of the Kedah State Health Department, remarked.
Rumah Rakyat CIMB Islamic will serve as an affordable temporary accommodation for relatives of patients receiving treatment at the hospital. The facility will be especially beneficial for residents of neighboring islands who need to travel long distances to seek treatment.
The halfway house contributes to the Malaysian Ministry of Health’s ongoing efforts to provide healthcare services to the B40 group including the Peduli Kesihatan untuk Kumpulan B40 (PeKa B40) scheme to curtail the spread of non-communicable diseases for the targeted demographic group.
The Sultanah Maliha Hospital has benefited from corporate social responsibility (CSR) funding in the past with the Langkawi Development Authority conducting CSR activities with the hospital in 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic to help it curb the spread of the virus.
The hospital is currently undergoing expansion efforts with new construction breaking ground on the 12th September 2022 to build an additional nine-floor block. The RM515.35 million (US$114.43 million) expansion project contributes to the hospital’s ambition to become a major specialist hospital. The expansion plan was approved in the 11th Malaysia Plan and is projected to be completed by July 2025.