Heart of the nation

When I read that IJN was to be privatised, I felt it was the last straw - our country's really going to the dogs.

Our National Heart Institute is the brainchild of our favourite Tun. It is also in this hospital that an elite group of heart specialists in our country are based. But best of all, it is a hospital that allows for heart operations to be done at a minimal price, for those who can ill-afford the costs.

It was not until a family member got admitted and had a minor operation in IJN, that I realized what an exemplary government institution it is.

For civil servants and their family members, I understand that the cost for anything in IJN is free - be it an RM50,000 operation, or monthly medications. For the rest of us, we pay what we can honestly afford and the rest of the cost is foot by the government's special fund. This way, people don't die just because they can't afford surgery. And that's what makes it an exceptionally fantastic government institution! Taxpayers like us then get to see with our own eyes that our tax money is really going somewhere that benefits the people, instead of stuffing up pockets of already fat Datuks.

So, if Sime Darby (this conglomerate that doesn't know the definition of "core business") were to take over (remember that this is the company that owns the expensive SJMC), do you think the government will even be able to have a say in the operating procedures once Sime Darby fiddles with paperwork and comes up with a whole balance sheet that shows IJN's expenditure?

Sime Darby's a corporate institution, not an NGO. I fail to see why it would acquire IJN just to comply with government's supposed rulings for reasonable affordable healthcare. And why in the first place should Sime Darby acquire IJN, if not because to take advantage of the fact that it has a steady stream of patients and is one of the most highly-regarded health institutions in Malaysia, or even South East Asia? Honestly, even a kid would be able to tell you that the bottomline of any corporate institution is "PROFIT".

And today, The Star reported that the doctors have claimed they have nothing to do with the privatisation issue and no party should say that the doctors are clamouring for higher pay which is why the government is considering the privatisation issue. 33 of the 35 consultants in IJN signed a press statement stating : “We would like to reiterate our commitment to serve IJN in its current form and want to stress that the move must not be seen as a response to our demands for better pay." Way to go doctors!

I wish and hope that someone important and influential in the government has the heart to say no to Sime Darby.