Two unions have lauded the government’s move to defer the privatisation plan of the National Heart Institute (IJN), Bernama reported today.

And not only that! The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) also wants the government to scrap altogether the idea of allowing conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd to buy a 51 per cent stake in the country's premier heart institute.

MTUC secretary-general G Rajasekaran said IJN was an important health care institution and it was the government's responsibility to maintain it for the benefit of the people, especially the poor.

On Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced that the government had, in principle, given the green light to Sime Darby for the company to acquire a controlling stake in IJN Holdings.

However, he explained yesterday that the government has decided to postpone the deal until an indepth review was undertaken by the relevant ministries.

Close the issue

Najib, who is also finance minister, told a press conference that the ministries to undertake the review, included the finance and health, as well as the Economic Planning Unit.

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

In a related development, the Transport Workers Union (TWU), while welcoming the postponement, felt that the entire issue of selling the IJN to the private sector should be closed permanently.

"To us, IJN is non-negotiable and it should not go into private hands as it would negate the noble intention of setting up the institute in the first place," TWU secretary-general Zainal Rampak told Bernama.

"IJN is a Malaysian icon and it should be preserved as such,” he said.

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