Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Healthcare is a government responsibility...

Health is a major concern for Malaysia, especially when the current Barisan Nasional government seemed more inclined towards privatization of healthcare. The new Prime Minister, Najib Razak, when he was the Deputy Prime Minister also was involved in an attempt to sell off the National Heart Institute (now 100% government owned) to some private company. This move was stalled.

Malaysian government pre-occupation  is for the having of medical facilities with advanced facilities and capabilities in Malaysia - but not for the access of healthcare to all for free (or nominal fees).

Save for public servants (and public service pensioners), every other person would have to make some sort of payment for medical care in Malaysia's government facilities. The payment is minimal - but to some, it may be beyond their means. 

There is a different rate for foreigners, which is 50 times more for even a simple registrations. While Malaysians pay RM1 for registration, foreigners pay RM50. [In the new 1Malaysia Clinics, apparently the fee that foreigners pay is more reasonable - RM15]. The problem is that foreigner must have proper documentation before treatment is generally provided. Malaysia has possibly about 5 million undocumented migrants - and theoretically they would not have access to healthcare in Malaysia.

Over the years, I have also become aware of a lot of diseases that Malaysians suffer from, and in this blog, I do hope to be able to gather more information relevant to patients, their families and malybe even doctors.

What are the relevant supports available in Malaysia? Is there a patient/family society? Are there magazines/publications on these topics? Who are the specialist in this field? ....

This Blog with also attempt to change government policy, and will be fighting for universal good healthcare for all for FREE. It is the obligation of the government to take care of the health and healthcare needs of the people in Malaysia.