MER-C Hands over Indonesian Hospital in Rakhine to Local Govt
Naypyidaw, MINA – The Indonesian humanitarian Medical Emergency Rescue Committee (MER-C) handed over Indonesian Hospital in Rakhine State, to Myanmar government, at an event at Myanmar Ministry of Health and Sports Office, Naypyidaw, on Tuesday.
The handover was symbolically carried out by the Government of Indonesia represented by the Indonesian Ambassador to Myanmar, Prof. Dr. Iza Fadri to Myanmar’s Minister of Health and Sports Dr. Myint Htwe.
Present to accompany the Indonesian Ambassador to Myanmar, the Coordinator of Volunteer Humanitarian Medical Emergency Rescue – Comittee (MER-C), Dr. Tonggo Meaty Fransisca, and Head of the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) Office, Sunarbowo Sandi Hardjosudiro.
In his remarks, the Indonesian Ambassador to Myanmar expressed his gratitude and appreciation for the work of PMI and MER-C as initiators and executors of the construction of Indonesian Hospital.
“During the construction work, the MER-C team in the field faced many challenges, such as security problems, continuous rain which caused flooding, and difficulties in finding workers and materials and the performance of contractors,” Ambassador Iza said.
The professor in law also expressed special appreciation to the four MER-C teams who had been on site during the construction work to completion.
“I would like to express special appreciation to the four supervisors from MER-C Indonesia, Nur Ikhwan Abadi, Ahmad Fauzi, Karidi and Wanto who have been on site since the beginning of construction in 2017 and made a concerted effort to complete this project,” he said.
He also stressed that the construction of the hospital will bring a message of peace between the two communities both Islamic and Buddhist.
“I am very confident that this hospital will carry a very important message for both religions, Islam and Buddhism to work together,” he said.
Meanwhile, Myanmar’s Minister of Health and Sports, Dr. Myint Htwe, expressed his appreciation to the people of Indonesia.
On this occasion, MER-C was also asked to explain the process of building the Indonesian Hospital in Rakhine, represented by Nur Ikhwan Abadi, as the Site Manager for the construction of the Hospital.
“On a very valuable day for these two countries, I would like to express my gratitude to Indonesia for this Hospital, and I am confident that this Hospital will continue to be remembered and by residents in Myaung Bwe Rakhine State and further strengthen relations between Indonesia and Myanmar “Said Myint Htwe.
He also stressed that Islam and Buddhism could work together and hoped that the Hospital would become a symbol of peace not only for the citizens of Rakhine but also for the whole of Myanmar.
“This hospital is very important for us, not only for the citizens of Rakhine State, but also for the whole country,” he continued.
The Indonesian Hospital in Myanmar’s Rakhine State is an initiation of MER-C since 2012. When this initiation was rolled out there were many challenges faced by MER-C given the very difficult licensing granted by the Myanmar government.
Permits were issued by the Government of Myanmar three years later or in 2015 after seeing MER-C neutrality in the field. The Myanmar government even gave land to MER-C covering an area of 4,000 square meters to build a hospital for two communities, namely Buddhism and Muslims.
The issuance of the permit received a very positive reception from the Indonesian government, the then Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla who is also the Chairperson of PMI, expressed his excitement and then invited PMI and Walubi to join MER-C to succeed in the development of the hospital.
The message of peace to this hospital will continue to be spread, hopefully the Indonesian Hospital in Myaung Bway Village, Mrauk U Township, Rakhine State will become a symbol of peace for residents in Rakhine, Myanmar and also the World. (T/Sj/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
