Houses at former leper settlement in Sungai Buloh to be demolished

KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 5): The National Centre for Infectious Disease Control will be built at the site of the former leper settlement, near Sungai Buloh Hospital (HSB), in Selangor, after the houses there are demolished starting in June.

HSB director Datuk Dr Khalid Ibrahim said they also planned to build 1,000 units of integrated quarters at the location, Bernama reported.

Met by reporters after the Jalinan Kasih programme of the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS) at the hospital, he said it was HSB's long-term plan to provide the facility to the public.

"Following the reported invasion of the area by foreign nationals, we are applying to demolish the houses and buildings there. After getting approval from the Public Works Department (PWD) (for the demolition), we can plan the redevelopment of the land there," he said.

He said the decision was reached at a meeting between the Health Ministry and several agencies, including the PWD and Selayang Municipal Council (MPS).

It was reported last month that the authorities, including the Health Ministry, was looking for a solution to the encroachment on the National Leprosy Control Centre (PKKN) by foreigners.

Director-general of Health Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah had said that to prevent further encroachment, the unused land in the area should be developed in addition to the Sungai Buloh Hospital, College of Allied Health Sciences, UiTM Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Dentistry and the Integration Quarters Complex, which had been built in the area.

It had been reported that PKKN had been "conquered" by illegal immigrants over the past 10 years and that at least 50 houses that were once inhabited by leprosy patients had turned into a village for the immigrants.

The National Leprosy Control Centre in Sungai Buloh is the second largest centre in the world.

At the 1st International Symposium on the Preservation of Heritage and Collective Memories of Communities Affected by Leprosy in Kuala Lumpur last year, National Heritage Department director-general Dr Zainah Ibrahim said the centre had significant historical, architectural and cultural importance that could recommend it for listing as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

The 226.6ha centre in Selangor opened in 1930 is a self-supporting and well-planned garden city with public facilities and a large agricultural zone.

About 200 former leprosy patients live in the centre. -- The Malaysian Insider

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