JOHOR BARU, July 13 — The Johor government will establish a special committee with the Defence Ministry for the Hospital Sultanah Aminah 2 (HSA2) project here.

Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the committee will be formed to examine the proposed construction of HSA2 on a piece of land that is owned by the Defence Ministry in the city.

He said the state government’s wish for HSA2’s realisation has received positive support from Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

"The construction of HSA2 is very important, because it can reduce dependency on and congestion at the existing Sultanah Aminah Hospital (HSA) here.

"Various things have been agreed upon and a special committee will be formed to further fine-tune this proposal to draw up a structured plan.

"The security and defence issues of Johor are also very important, especially relating to the state’s border security, and such matters must be discussed collectively,” said Onn Hafiz in a statement today.

He held a meeting with Mohamad at the Defence Ministry in Putrajaya yesterday.

Present during the meeting were Johor Health and Unity Committee chairman Ling Tian Soon, Johor land and minerals director Datuk Ashari Kasnan and Johor Health Department director Dr Mohtar Pungut.

Onn Hafiz said that he hopes the good cooperation between the Johor and federal governments will have a positive impact on the quality of life of the people of Johor.

The Machap assemblyman also said that he hopes that Johor’s continued cooperation with its federal counterparts will turn the state into a developed one.

Last month, Ling was reported to have said that the state government will soon hold discussions with the Defence Ministry regarding its land in Johor for the construction of a new public hospital.