Don T Privatise Public Healthcare Fund It Through The Budget Not From The People S Pocket

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 Letter to Editor
PARTI Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) Petaling Jaya vehemently opposes the recent statement by Bukit Gasing ADUN, Rajiv Rishyakaran, whose support for the public healthcare reforms dangerously flirts with the logic of privatisation.
While we welcome the ADUN’s political ideology as being anchored in the centre-left, his argument, in favour of introducing market-driven “solutions”, contradicts that political stance.
Echoing neoliberal narratives, camouflaged under polished terms like premium services, value-based care, and co-pay models, only serves to erode the very foundation of a universal public healthcare system.
These arguments do not address the root cause of the crisis in healthcare: chronic underfunding by the state.
This creates a narrative of helplessness, as if the only path to reviving the deteriorating public healthcare system is to gradually arrive, if not dive right into, privatisation. This is untrue, deceiving and manipulative.
Warnings and repercussions raised over the years of not attending to the chronically ill-funded public healthcare have not fallen into the right ears.
As a result, overworked staff have resigned or migrated to local private hospitals or taken up international opportunities, hence widening the gap between the number of healthcare workers and the patients.
(Image: Getty Images)Amid the backdrop of an ageing society, a growing population, and an existing landscape with numerous private hospitals, how will the Malaysia MADANI government and future administrations address the risk of a looming healthcare collapse without resorting to a neoliberal approach?
It is estimated that by 2030, Malaysia will require 114,187 doctors to serve a projected population of 38 million. Are we on the right track?
Those who once stood in the frontline against privatisation efforts when power was beyond their reach have now convinced themselves to drive the privatisation agenda.
What our system suffers from is years of neglect and political disinterest. There are several points of disagreement we would like to assert.
Public services must be protected from market logic
Healthcare is not a business. Like education, public safety, and basic infrastructure, it is a social right, not a commercial service.
Applying business principles to healthcare such as profitability, customer segmentation, and service tiers will inevitably exclude the very people the system was built to serve: the poor, the elderly, the disabled, the working class. Universal access is what we are proposing.
The introduction of “premium economy” or “fee-for-service” care in public hospitals sets a dangerous precedent. It legitimises a two-tier system where access to quality healthcare depends on income level.
Those who cannot afford treatment are delayed for a timely intervention. This is not reform. It is abandonment and punishment.
Privatisation won’t fix burned-out healthcare workers
(Image: WISE Workplace)Another major fallacy in this push towards privatisation is the claim that it would alleviate the burden on overworked healthcare professionals. Can it be true?
There is no clear mechanism that shows how fee-paying systems or insurance models would reduce burnout or improve staffing.
If anything, such models encourage patient discrimination based on payment capacity, and fail to address the root issue: inadequate staffing, under-resourced facilities, and insufficient government funding.
Two additional concerns germinate as a result of the implementation of a monetary-oriented mechanism.
First, PSM chairman Dr Jeyakumar argued that the Full Paying Patient (FPP) scheme created a conflict of interest by allowing senior government doctors and specialists to treat private patients in public hospitals for higher fees (private sector rates).
While some specialists used the scheme moderately, others prioritised private patients, earning double their salaries and neglecting public duties.
This undermined morale among colleagues, strained public services, and hindered the training of junior doctors.
Public hospitals, which are responsible for the majority of inpatient care, are currently experiencing staff shortages, extended waiting periods, misdiagnoses, and increased pressure on their less experienced physicians.
The reason for this is that private institutions now employ 75% of specialists with 10 years of post-specialisation experience. Consequently, a mere 25% of the senior specialists in public healthcare are responsible for the care of 75% of the patients.
Do not touch EPF
(Image: Bernama)The proposal to allow deductions from Account 2 of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to pay for medical insurance is utterly reckless.
It is presented as a universal remedy, but in reality, it is a financial burden disguised as empowerment.
What’s alarming is that proponents of such mechanisms, including the ADUN, appear indifferent to the large segment of the population lacking the financial means to secure a safe, stable, and dignified retirement.
Research by the Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) has confirmed that over 90% of EPF members aged 30 and below do not have sufficient savings to retire by age 55 since the pandemic.
The same study reveals even more troubling statistics: 52% of members under 55 have less than RM10,000 in their accounts, and 25% have less than RM1,000.
This dire situation is largely driven by suppressed wages that fail to keep pace with the cost of living. In times of crisis, families in such vulnerable financial positions are pushed into further instability.
EPF is meant to safeguard people’s retirement, not subsidise an inefficient or underfunded healthcare system.
For a rapidly ageing population, this move could prove devastating. Once again, the cost is quietly being passed to the rakyat while the government absolves itself of responsibility. 
Barathi Selvam is a Parti Sosialis Malaysia Petaling Jaya committee member.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT. 
- Focus Malaysia.

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