IJN Collected RM3 Million In 2008 From Private Donors. How Much Has Sime Darby Given?

The National Heart Institute (IJN) Foundation has collected RM3 million this year from charitable organisations, private companies and the society to help fund heart treatment for the poor.

IJN Foundation manager Alawiyah Yussof said six private companies had been making regular contributions annually while organisations and individuals contributed from time to time.

Contributors to the IJN foundation include Pfizer Malaysia, AirAsia and the Tenaga Nasional Foundation.

"The contributions were not only in monetary form but also as partners in our programmes," Alawiyah told Bernama recently.

Formed in 1995, the IJN Foundation collects funds to treat poor heart patients and to fund IJN's research programmes.

She said the foundation was never short on funds when called upon to help and last year funded 85 patients costing over RM2 million.

"Sometimes, we also help to buy additional equipments for patients."

IJN treats three categories of patients namely government staff or retirees, patients who could afford to pay and those who could not afford like farmers and fishermen.

She the foundation did not receive any complaints on lack of equipments or poor service from patients or their family members.

On the deferred plan to privatise IJN, Alawiyah said the privatisation of IJN would drive away donors.

"This is because the society regards private companies as profit-driven and wholly dependent on capital expenditure," she added.

Sime Darby Bhd was recently reported as planning to buy a 51 percent stake in IJN Holdings Sdn Bhd, the operator of IJN.

IJN, the leading medical heart centre in the region is 99.99 percent owned by the Ministry of Finance.

Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said on Dec 19 the privatisation of IJN had been postponed pending an indepth review by the relevant ministries. (Bernama)

***** If the greed merchants in Sime Darby genuinely have the best interests of IJN and its patients at heart (pun intended), then instead of trying to 'help' by taking over the heart institute, they should donate generously as other private groups have done. Najib too should lean on the Sime Darby corporate vultures to part with more cash for the needy instead of attempting to assist his brother Nazir Razak and reward cronies by engineering a backdoor economic coup.