Comments made by Dr Kuljit Singh today (29 Nov) as reported by Free Malaysia Today (FMT) has progressives and liberals up in arms and are angry about his complete disregard for the right of humans to have access to low-cost quality healthcare. He said, and I quote: “Cutting cost of private healthcare can drive investors away”. This is the reality for the majority of Malaysians: Medical inflation is high compared to the average inflation globally (rose 12.6% in 2023), public healthcare is severely underfunded (more into that later) and more and more Malaysians are flocking to an already exacerbated public healthcare system, simply because they cannot afford it and prices of health insurance are getting higher and higher - more reminiscent of American insurance schemes; price gouging the consumer. The MADANI government has to, has to act - but seeing the trends as their going and with revelations coming out where private corporations are funding 80% of Anwar Ibrahim's official visits, it is safe to say that he is in the pockets of big corporation and probably supports the thoughts and comments of Dr Singh. However, should he suddenly wake up and want to change course and actually help the hand that fed him - progressives, liberals and minorities, he and his government must do three things: Fund the Public Healthcare Service, Stop and Reverse Privatization and Expand Reach for those with limited access to it.
Fund the Healthcare Service
Public Healthcare is severely underfunded in Malaysia. Although a seemingly whopping 45.3 Billion Ringgit is allocated, making it the second most funded ministry after the Education Ministry, it still goes under the recommended bare minimum of 5% GDP as proposed by the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC). According to numbers from 2021, when COVID-19 was at its peak - public spending on healthcare was a very very measly 2.93% - nowhere near the recommended bare minimum of 5%. Fast forward to the one week before the announcement of the Budget 2025 and the Malaysian Medical Association [MMA], was quoted to have called, in a Star article, to set spending at 5% of the Malaysian Gross Domestic Product (GDP). After the announcement, MMA was quoted to have been dismayed as there was no pathway to achieve this goal - and we are now seeing the effects of it. In the same Star article, 70% of everyday Malaysians are reliant and depend on the Public Health system. As this is a crucial and vital part of social cohesion in Malaysian society, it is absolutely imperative that we at least, at the very least, fund it to the bare minimum of 5% of GDP - and we call on Anwar and his government to do better should they want to fulfil the “Reformasi” cry from all those years ago.
Stop and Reverse Privatization
In the budget, however, there was the launch of the RakanKKM programme which advocated for private hospital wings in Public Hospitals - and they were given 25 Million to carry out this programme. The problem is: it chips away at the integrity and the basic foundations of our national health service and the Ministry of Health itself. For nearly 6 decades, the ministry has been overseeing the provision of Universal Healthcare Coverage for all citizens at low-cost or even free at the point of use: regardless of status. However, this neoliberal approach - which although seems small - will have ripple effects on the public perception of the health service. CodeBlue, a health news website shares this view by stating in an article that, and I quote:
“This Robin Hood approach to health care will only end up hurting the poor and the middle class. The “rich” – by rich, we mean a CEO who makes more than RM80,000 a month, not the salaried T20 whose household income is only RM10,000 to RM24,000 monthly – seek health care wherever they can get it, whether it’s private, public, or overseas. Not all treatments are available in Malaysian private hospitals.”
“While countries are moving towards a universal approach, like universal basic income, Malaysia is regressing by privatizing our national health service in a misguided attempt to further squeeze the middle class, even though the middle class are the ones paying the most taxes to fund the public health care system.”
This absolutely disgusting “no sympathy” approach to the people of Malaysia will see a lowering of standards of living in Malaysia - leaving Malaysia in a more disastrous state than what the last government left us with. This approach, if seen out to the full, would demotivate voters when going to the ballot box because, not all votes are guarantees. This austerity policy that we have not seen since the Mahathir government would also lead to the crippling of the public's health which would have disastrous impacts on the economy. Anwar must reverse course and end the austerity and end the slow privatization of the health service - and instead invest in it and protect it.
Expand Reach
It is not a secret that Malaysia still has a problem with access to healthcare. In the more rural parts of Malaysia, they may suffer from either of two problems: the lack of a hospital, and it takes a long way to get there or an underequipped and understaffed hospital, leading to long waiting times. To reform the system, is to build more hospitals and retaining the talent we have with solid wages guaranteed by the government. From there, we can properly fund and staff the hospitals to enable rural folks to get what they need - in terms of healthcare. It may also be good to fund frequent and reliable public transport that is in the localities [and not just concentrate it in KL] to allow people to move from place to place with efficiency and with certainty - especially as not everyone in the rural areas have a vehicle. Investing in public hospitals is the best way to truly achieve Malaysia MADANI - and the time to act is now, not later.
Closing remarks
As progressives, we must pressure the government to change its ways, listen to the electorate and live out the “REFORMASI” cries from nearly 30 years ago. We say: fund the health service, reverse austerity and privatisation and expand reach for a better and reinvigorated health service to guarantee that health is a right and not a commodity.
Timothy is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.