Top US medical school cuts ties with Perdana U over money

After a four-year alliance, the world-renowned Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine has pulled out of Malaysia's Perdana University Graduate School of Medicine (Pugsom), citing frequent late payments as the reason.

The American medical school said it made the "difficult decision" of ending the partnership in Pugsom - Malaysia’s first private teaching hospital with research facilities - because payments to Johns Hopkins under the contract were often late, adding that payments were 12 months overdue when the partnership was terminated last month.

"It was our honour and privilege to help create a new model for medical education in Malaysia by providing guidance and advice to Pugsom and by assisting in teaching and in the initiation of the school," its director of marketing and communications, Lindsay R Rothstein, told The Malaysian Insider in an email.

"However, we reached the difficult decision to end the existing relationship because payments required under the agreement for the services provided by Johns Hopkins and its faculty were frequently received late and at the time the agreement was terminated, Johns Hopkins had not been paid for more than 12 months of work."

Rothstein said the situation had become "untenable" but added that despite its disappointment over the outcome of the partnership, it would not close its doors on other international collaborations.

"As of July 31, 2014, Johns Hopkins, its faculty and its curriculum are no longer associated with Pugsom. While we are deeply disappointed by this outcome, we hold firm to our belief that international collaborations such as this are critical to advancing our mission.”

Pugsom, established in 2010 under the initiative of the Academic Medical Centre Sdn Bhd (AMC), offered a four-year medical course in collaboration with John Hopkins, which reportedly cost RM800,000.

When Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced the partnership between Johns Hopkins and Malaysian and American investors in September 2010, he said the school would become a medical research hub in the region.

Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, who was then Health Minister, was reported as saying that the presence of the prestigious Johns Hopkins in Malaysia would boost the country's health tourism industry.

The Public Services Department sponsored students enrolled in the Pugsom programme.

Johns Hopkins, meanwhile, said the official notice of its decision to end the partnership was sent to AMC on March 17 this year but it allowed the faculty to remain reaching until July 31 in the interest of students attending Pugsom.

"Since the date of the notice on March 17, 2014, in order to protect the interests of the students attending Pugsom, Johns Hopkin voluntarily and at our own expense, allowed its faculty to remain teaching through July 31, 2014, and maintained other aspects of our presence at Pugsom," Rothstein added.

"Also during this timeframe, Johns Hopkins allowed the school to use the Johns Hopkins 'Genes to Society' curriculum and the 'in Collaboration with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine' tag line."

However, checks on the university's website earlier this week showed that the Pugsom programme, along with the tagline of the collaboration with Johns Hopkins, was still being advertised.

Perdana University vice-chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Sothi Rachagan, when contacted, declined to comment but said that a statement would be issued.

Pugsom, which opened its doors in September 2011, is believed to currently have three batches of medical students. Its chancellor is Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The campus is located at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) in Serdang. It was reported in 2011 that it would move to a 141-acre campus costing RM2.3 billion by 2014.

The new campus, also located in Serdang, is expected have its own 600-bed private teaching hospital.

- TMI