Doctor combines business, medicine<\/p>\n
M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Upon entering the University of Indonesia's microbiology
\nlaboratory on Jl. Pegangsaan Timur, Central Jakarta, every new
\nmedical student is greeted by a plaque on the doorway that reads
\n\"to become a doctor is noble, to become a businessperson is no
\nless noble, but to combine the two is loathsome\".<\/p>\n
The maxim, first pronounced by a senior lecturer at the UI
\nschool of medicine, carries a critical moral lesson to all would-
\nbe doctors that they ought not to take advantage of their
\noccupation for personal and material gain and that they should
\nselflessly labor to serve the public.<\/p>\n
However, there is a graduate of the state university who has
\ndefied the maxim for a long time but has somehow managed to tread
\nthe fine line between business interests and serving the public
\nand has been successful in both fields.<\/p>\n
During the past 30 years, physician Kahar Tjandra has been an
\nexample of how a doctor can run a successful business empire
\nwhile continuing to serve the public, even if at times he has had
\nto dig deep into his company's pockets to do so.<\/p>\n
With a holding company administering several business lines --
\na pharmaceutical company producing antiseptic solution, drug
\nstores, a gourmet food shop, hotel and a supply chain service --
\nTjandra can say he is a successful businessman.<\/p>\n
His pharmaceutical company, PT Mahakam Beta Farma, a producer
\nof a well-known antiseptic solution, ranked 60th in the top-200
\npharmaceutical companies operating in the country last year and
\nwas included in the \"superbrands\" campaign of popular products.<\/p>\n
A four-star boutique hotel, which he constructed in the mid-
\n1990s, is now the powerhouse of his business empire. Managing to
\nsurvive the financial crisis, it has had an occupancy rate of up
\nto 85 percent during the past four months.<\/p>\n
Tjandra's supplier company now has over 400 employees and over
\n200 vehicles that transport goods including medicine, canned
\nfish, condiments and fake plastic trees and flowers to various
\ndestinations throughout the country.<\/p>\n
However, not all his business endeavors have been so
\nsuccessful. Tjandra says he suffered the greatest loss in his
\nbusiness when he decided to procure state-of-the-art medical
\nequipment for the state-owned Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital.<\/p>\n
In 1990, he decided to purchase a Magnetic Resonance Imaging
\n(MRI) machine, a sophisticated device capable of effectively and
\naccurately detecting patients' illnesses, for the hospital, then
\nthe only one in the country.<\/p>\n
\"The device cost US$2 million and I made the purchase in
\ncollaboration with some big companies. But after realizing that
\npatients would be charged only a small fee for its use, my
\npartners quit the deal and I alone was left to foot the bill. In
\nthe end, I suffered a Rp 2 billion loss,\" he told The Jakarta
\nPost in a recent interview.<\/p>\n
Tjandra said that the device, which he considered more
\nadvanced than X-Ray or Computed Tomography (CT) Imaging would be
\nof great assistance in detecting serious illnesses, especially
\namong the poor who could not afford expensive health treatment.<\/p>\n
Tjandra, however, did not mourn his financial loss as came to
\na realization that it was part of a sacrifice he had to shoulder
\nto help the poor to get decent medical services, in the same way
\nas he has continuously provided medical services for patients who
\nhave queued up at his clinic during the past 25 years.<\/p>\n
He said most of his patients were from the lower-income
\nbracket, who live in the poor neighborhood around his clinic in
\nPalmerah, South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"In my 25 years of experience as a doctor, I have never turned
\ndown a request for a visit from my patients. I would attend even
\nif it was 3 a.m.,\" he said.<\/p>\n
And to maintain his professionalism as a doctor, Tjandra said
\nthat his business activities were conducted outside the time he
\ndevoted to counseling patients, prompting him to work extra
\nhours.<\/p>\n
Hard work seems to be a hereditary trait he has possessed
\nsince early childhood.<\/p>\n
Born 75 five years ago in Padang, West Sumatra, to a Chinese-
\nIndonesian family, Tjandra was engaged in trading at the tender
\nage of 12.<\/p>\n
By the time he got to the junior high school, he conducted all
\nhis bookkeeping for his business activities, something he did
\nuntil recently.<\/p>\n
When Tjandra enrolled at the UI School of Medicine, he kick-
\nstarted his supplier company, which later became the springboard
\nfor the rest of his businesses.<\/p>\n
Soon after graduating, Tjandra was recruited by the
\nIndonesian Military (TNI) to become an Army doctor, an
\nopportunity that would serve to support his business enterprise.
\nThe new doctor cut a major deal when the United Nations Children
\nFund (Unicef), which awarded him a contract to procure milk for
\nfamilies of an Army unit.<\/p>\n
His brief stint with the military won him close acquaintance
\nwith a number of influential figures who later helped smooth his
\nway in business.<\/p>\n
In recognition of all his achievements, Tjandra's alma mater
\nrecently honored him this year with the title \"distinguished
\nalumnus.\"<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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