http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/inde ... id-for-ijn
Cabinet all but kills Sime Darby’s bid for IJN
By Choo Choy May
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — Plantations-to-power group Sime Darby Berhad's unsolicited proposal to take a stake in the National Heart Institute (IJN) is off — indefinitely.
The Cabinet has decided to postpone any decision until further discussion on the matter.
"The Cabinet did not oppose but wants the decision to be deferred for further discussion," a Cabinet minister told The Malaysian Insider today.
While ministers said that the Cabinet was deferring a decision to allow the government-linked multinational to take a 51 per cent stake in the region's leading heart institute, in reality the project is dead in the water, government sources told The Malaysian Insider.
There was strong opposition to the deal in the Cabinet today. Many Barisan Nasional politicians also felt that if Sime Darby was allowed to go ahead, it could alienate the public and the powerful civil service just at a time when the ruling coalition is starting to find its footing after the March 8 election drubbing.
The Star reported today that IJN doctors said they are committed to serve the hospital in its current form and they do not want privatisation to be seen as the response to their demand for better pay. The institute has some 85 surgical personnel and some 500 nurses among its 1,000-odd employees.
The institute, established in 1992, is currently expanding to increase its facilities which are expected to complete by the second quarter of 2009. Upon completion, IJN will have a total of 432 beds specially dedicated for heart treatment and will be one of the largest heart centres in the region.
It treats some 150,000 patients a year, of whom some 100,000 are government servants. The government regulates the fees with its first-class medical treatment at below market rate.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Sime Darby said it had written to the government about its intention and was now awaiting an official response. IJN is operated by IJN Holdings Sdn Bhd, which is wholly-owned by the Ministry of Finance.
It is understood the Finance Ministry is agreeable to the stake disposal but the Health Ministry is against the idea.
Sime Darby president and group chief executive Datuk Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid described the proposal as a "win-win" situation, saying that it would allow the conglomerate to better synergise IJN and the group's existing healthcare centre, Subang Jaya Medical Centre, in terms of expertise and technology.
He also said the government had stipulated three conditions in its response to the proposal, namely, the value of the proposed acquisition, the group's business plan for IJN and the group's commitment to continue the social obligation as being provided by the Health Ministry currently.
Zubir has not disclosed the value of the 51 per cent stake but said it would pay in cash to the government. The group is also looking at acquiring a few other hospitals.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said yesterday IJN should not take the heartless path towards pure commercialisation but should have a heart for all Malaysians who want a healthy lifestyle.
IJN was spun out of Kuala Lumpur Hospital's Cardiothoracic Surgery Department three years after former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad suffered a heart attack in 1989.
