The cabinet has decided to postpone the controversial sale of the National Heart Institute (IJN) to Sime Darby, according to MCA president Ong Tee Keat at a press conference in his Transport Ministry in Putrajaya.

najib altantuya murder case allegations pc 250608Details of the cabinet decision were announced by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak later.

Yesterday, Najib said the government in principle agreed with the Sime Darby proposal to buy a stake in the heart institute.

Following that many quarters expressed their opposition to the proposed deal, expressing concern that Sime Darby's fee structure would be too high for the poor.

At a press conference this evening, Najib said the deal has been postponed until an in-depth review is undertaken by the relevant ministries.

IJN is operated by IJN Holdings Sdn Bhd, which is wholly-owned by the Ministry of Finance.

Najib, who is also finance minister, said the ministries which would undertake the review include the Ministries of Finance and Health as well as the Economic Planning Unit.

The deputy premier also ruled out that the decision is related to the Kuala Terengganu by-election.

"It is clear that the government gives priority to the people's needs, we will not pust aside our social responsbility," he said.

Doctors make a stand

Earlier today, IJN specialists issued a statement saying that they would prefer the institute to stay in its present form, which is directly funded by the government.

The specialists added that they do not wish to be made 'scapegoats' in the proposed privatisation of the institute.

In a statement signed by 33 of the 35 medical consultants working for IJN, they stressed that privatisation should not be interpreted as a response towards their demands for better pay.

"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," the statement said.

The doctors added that the medical personnel were not at all involved in the negotiations for the proposed takeover.