Penang: The Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development (KPWKM) plans to expand the Yayasan Kebajikan Negara (YKN) Anjung Kasih facilities to three more hospitals this year. Deputy Minister Lim Hui Ying announced that the new facilities are planned for Segamat in Johor, Kuala Terengganu, and Penang.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the temporary accommodation facilities are designed for low-income families who need to stay near government hospitals while accompanying relatives undergoing treatment. The initiative, Anjung Kasih, is a YKN project under KPWKM in collaboration with the Health Ministry. It allows family members to remain close to their loved ones without being burdened by high accommodation costs, easing both emotional and financial stress. Lim emphasized that the facility helps families save between RM100 and RM150 a day, costs that would otherwise be spent on nearby hotels.
Lim made these remarks after visiting the YKN Anjung Kasih facility at Penang Hospital, where she was joined by YKN chief executive Nordina Haron and Penang Hospital director Dr. Goh Hin Kwang. She noted that 19 YKN Anjung Kasih facilities are currently operating nationwide, thanks to partnerships between the government and corporate contributors such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad, Sunway Group, Petronas, and Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad.
Though every state has had at least one YKN Anjung Kasih facility since 2023, Lim mentioned that many hospitals outside state capitals are still requesting similar services. She urged more corporations to support the initiative through corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes to extend the benefits to more families in the future.
Meanwhile, Nordina elaborated that each YKN Anjung Kasih facility costs between RM1 million and RM1.5 million to establish, depending on the building size. Since 2008, more than 30,000 family members of patients have utilized the facilities nationwide. She emphasized that the facility is designed to provide a safe, comfortable, and quality environment for families who live far from hospitals and cannot afford hotels or rented rooms.
A 57-year-old housewife from Lunas, Kedah, Rashimah Aboo Hassan, shared her experience with the facility at Penang Hospital. She has been staying there for the past 49 days while her youngest son, Muhammad Amzar Mohd Nazaidi, 20, receives treatment for leukaemia. Rashimah expressed that if she had to travel home every day, it would be both far and costly, as her house is about 40 kilometres from the hospital. The Anjung Kasih facility provides her with a place to shower and rest, without which she would likely have to wait in the ward due to the high cost of nearby hotels.