Controversy over IJN, RM1.7bln budget terminal rages on.
Despite an eleventh-hour decision to defer privatising the National Heart Institute (IJN), debate on the issue has continued to rage on - indicating the high-level of unhappiness over the Finance Ministry’s attempt to raise cash at the expense of affordable public health care.
Another deal very quietly put through on the same day - a RM1.7 billion project granted to Sime Darby Bhd and Air Asia to build a new low-cost carrier terminal in Negeri Sembilan - is also setting off alarm bells.
Back-to-back, the two deals have raised concerns the Umno-led Barisan Nasional government was bringing back past policies that relied on mega projects, cronyism and privatisation to pump-prime the fast-sinking economy.
“Those were the policies promoted by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. Although there was development, the policies were condemned because they also masked huge corruption and wastage of public monies,” said an economist at a foreign bank.
All in the name of rising costs, economic turmoil
Last week, the government pulled back from the brink. It temporarily shelved the proposed privatisation of IJN - a national icon for reasonable, yet high-quality health care services.
“It was never meant to be a commercial institute,” Yahya Awang, one of Malaysia’s foremost cardio-thoracic surgeons, told the press.
“I am told that even the doctors there were not informed of the idea. Therefore, I am suspicios of the privatisation idea. It is not as if the hospital is not doing well.”
Like Yahya, many prominent Malaysians have begun to question if the government had the right to forsake - or to even reduce - its social duty of keeping public amenities open to all and maintained at reasonable costs even though global prices may be escalating and the local economy a step away from recession.
“Healthcare is a service and must be more than a business. We should continue to implement justice in healthcare,” said G Palanivel, a former deputy minister.
For political show
Even Mahathir - the architect of Malaysia’s privatisation programme that oversaw the flotation of national phone firm Telekom Malaysia Bhd and power utility Tenaga Nasional Bhd in the ’80s- appeared to disagree with his prodigy Najib Abdul Razak over the IJN stake sale.
Najib, the deputy premier and finance minister, had days earlier given approval-in-principle to conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd to buy 51 percent in IJN from the Ministry of Finance. He was forced to retract and defer the stake sale following a huge wave of public protest.
“There has not been any complaint on IJN. They have performed extremely well. Serving the rich and poor. Everyone benefited from IJN, including myself,” said Mahathir, a former patient who underwent by-pass surgery there.
But the ex-premier, who celebrated his 83rd birthday on Saturday, could not help letting slip the political angle for the postponement. He admitted that Najib and the Barisan could not afford to give the opposition any opportunity for attack.
Mahathir’s comments came just hours before Najib announced the IJN privatisation would be deferred until after an in-depth study was done and just a day before Najib named the Barisan candidate for the upcoming Kuala Terengganu parliamentary by-election.
Meanwhile Deputy Health Minister Abdul Latiff Ahmad, who rushed off to Kuala Terengganu to brief the state’s health department staff, said the federal government would not sell IJN as long as there were no alternatives that provided the same services.
“It is a good idea but what about those in the low-income group? Can they be assured of obtaining similar service? These are the things that the government needs to consider,” said Latiff.
Key test for Najib
Seen as a key test for Najib - who is also the incoming president of Umno - the KT parliamentary seat if won with a thumping majority would be seen as an endorsement for his leadership over the Malay community.
However, an unconvincing win or worst still, an outright loss, would be read as regret amongst Umno members that they had given him such easy passage to the party presidency.
Najib had swept all but one nomination for the Umno top job, which brings in tow the premiership of the country. He is due to take over from Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in March 2009.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim too warned against a “heartless political gimmick”.
He said there was nothing to stop the government from putting the privatisation back on track once the KT by-election was over.
“The postponement is a mere political ploy to avert a voter backlash in Kuala Terengganu,” Anwar said.
Good for Sime, bad for the country?
IJN, for which Sime had offered to pay cash, caters mainly to the lower and middle income groups and to civil servants as well. It is fairly well-run and makes an annual profit of RM20 million.
According to Tian Chua, Information Chief of KeADILan, this means RM10 million would be lost from national coffers each year if the 51% stake divestment went through.
While the deal was obviously good for Sime, offering the diversified group a stable and strategic source of income, the people would be left with the short end of the stick, Tian warned.
To recoup its investment, Sime would have to run IJN commercially to maximise profits - which in turn would lead to higher fees for patients, he added.
“But it is not clear how the privatisation of IJN can benefit the people, especially since the people will be forced to bear the higher cost of medical service while the country will lose a good source of income,” said Tian.
No comments:
Post a Comment