White Paper For An Equitable And Sustainable Malaysian Health Care System – Malaysian Health Coalition

The tabling of the white paper and its subsequent implementation will greatly benefit the health care system, and ultimately, the people.

The Malaysian Health Coalition (MHC) welcomes the health minister’s proposed white paper to reform Malaysia’s health system. We propose three guiding principles to ensure achievable and practical targets:

Be Inclusive, Transparent And Holistic In Health Care Resource Allocation

The Ministry of Health (MOH) should champion inclusive and holistic health care by ensuring equitable and accessible distribution of health care resources in society.

This must focus on vulnerable groups such as indigenous communities, people with disabilities, senior citizens, migrants, prisoners, stigmatised communities, and other underprivileged population segments.

Health care must be universal for everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, race, religion, or identity. Therefore, the MOH must consult key stakeholders such as patients, members of the public, health care workers, insurance companies, managed care organisations, and most importantly, other ministries in cultivating a culturally sensitive and sustainable approach.

We urge that the distribution of financial, human, and political capital be guided by demographic needs, disease burdens, and future strategies. The MOH must uphold the principles of transparency and accountability in these allocations to ensure justice and effectiveness.

Build Inter-Agency Collaborations

While the health care system may be synonymous with the MOH, the MOH requires support from many other entities, such as the finance ministry, the treasury, the public service, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), private for-profit businesses, medical health associations, and many more.

We encourage multi-sectoral collaboration, especially between ministries, in the preparation and implementation of this White Paper to ensure a smoother, more comprehensive delivery that will benefit the rakyat.

This can be achieved within inter0agency working groups across the multiple phases of drafting, ranging from the early phases of gathering input to the final phases of setting operational details. This allows for congruous policymaking that will establish a strong foundation of “Health-in-All-Policies”.

Use The Health Reform Commission As An Implementation Body

The implementation of the white paper is critical. As such, the MHC welcomes the proactive establishment of the Health Reform Commission (HRC) to ensure accountability and continuity in the implementation of these policies.

This commission will be tasked with monitoring, advising, and reporting on the status of health care reforms to Parliament and the public.

It is also crucial to ensure a transparent process in appointing well-qualified individuals to the HRC, who will then act as a neutral and credible body in the implementation process. This will undeniably inject stability into the health care political economy no matter what the future holds. 

We look forward to the tabling of the white paper and its subsequent implementation, which we believe will greatly benefit the health care system, and ultimately, the rakyat.

  • Academy of Medicine Malaysia 
  • Association of Malaysian Optometrists 
  • College of Anaesthesiologists 
  • College of Physicians 
  • College of Surgeons Academy of Medicine of Malaysia
  • IKRAM Health Malaysia
  • Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia
  • Lung Cancer Network of Malaysia
  • Malaysian Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology
  • Malaysian Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology
  • Malaysian Association of Clinical Biochemists 
  • Malaysian Association of Dental Public Health Specialists 
  • Malaysian Association of Environmental Health 
  • Malaysian Association of Medical Assistants 
  • Malaysian Coalition on Ageing 
  • Malaysian Dental Association 
  • Malaysian National Society of Audiologist 
  • Malaysian Nurses Association 
  • Malaysian Paediatric Association
  • Malaysian Pharmacists Society
  • Malaysian Society of Clinical Psychology
  • Malaysian Society of Geriatric Medicine 
  • Malaysian Society of Intensive Care 
  • Malaysian Society of Opthalmology 
  • Malaysian Thoracic Society
  • Medical Practitioners Coalition Association of Malaysia 
  • MedTweetMy
  • Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Malaysia
  • Perinatal Society of Malaysia
  • Assoc Prof Dr Uma Devi Palanisamy
  • Dr Amar Singh-HSS
  • Dr Khor Swee Kheng
  • Prof Dr Asri Said
  • Prof Dr Roslina Abdul Manap
  • Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh
  • Prof Dr Zaleha Abdullah Mahdy
  • Sharipah Asiah Syed Junid Aljunid
  • This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.

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