Private hospitals in the country are allowed to do organ transplant surgeries so long as they meet the criteria imposed by the Health Ministry, said its Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said in principle, there was nothing wrong for private hospitals to do transplant surgeries should they have people with adequate qualification, accreditation and supporting team to do the surgeries effectively.

"They (private hospitals) must follow ethical procedures outlined by the ministry.

"Historically, we allow them (private hospitals) to do liver and renal transplant provided they have the facilities and people," he told a press conference after attending the 10th anniversary of Chennai Silk Palace here Saturday.

Dr Subramaniam was responding to a English daily news report which said Malaysians hoping for an organ transplant find themselves having to go overseas because private hospitals here are struggling to meet the new criteria imposed by the Health Ministry two years ago.

It said several private hospitals used to do transplant surgeries until there was a death and the ministry shut down their operations.

On another note, Subramaniam who is MIC president, hoped Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak will announce additional allocation for the development of Tamil schools through the 2016 Budget to ensure the transformation programme for the schools which was ongoing since 2010 is continued.

He said since 2009 till now, about RM600 million had been allocated for the development of Tamil schools.

Dr Subramaniam also said the government should give emphasis on the importance of providing effective primary healthcare through the Budget.

In a separate function here, he handed out a special allocation for maintenance amounting to RM4.26 million from the government to 56 Tamil schools in Selangor.

He expressed appreciation to the Barisan Nasional (BN) government that always gave attention to Tamil schools in the country with a significant allocation in the national budget every year.

"I hope that in the 2016 Budget, the prime minister will give additional allocation for the development of Tamil schools so that the process of change and transformation for the Tamil schools that started since 2010 can be
continued," he said.