KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — Ipoh Timor MP Howard Lee has urged government-linked investment companies (GLICs) to invest in mobile wound care units to ease congestion in public health clinics.
Lee argued that the GLICs, such as Khazanah Nasional Bhd and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), should consider expanding their investment portfolios to support critical health services like wound care, as over 17 per cent of Malaysia’s population, or 6.4 million people, is expected to be aged 60 and above in 2040.
“I think the likes of Khazanah, EPF – any of the ‘Gear-Up’ GLICs – should be investing more because as the nation ages, and we’re also in the midst of a health care crisis, there is a direct correlation between the agedness of the population and the need for specific services like wound care,” Lee said during Sinar Daily’s Wacana English Edition forum on “Risky Ventures: Is the Government Putting Our Savings at Risk?” on October 3.
“We’ve got an NCDs (non-communicable diseases) crisis, diabetes on the up, and more people need wound care. A lot of treatment room episodes are on wound care. Why can’t GLICs or anyone in the group invest in an in-situ, in-home wound care so that you can bring down the bottlenecks that are in klinik kesihatan?” Lee said.
About 15.6 per cent of Malaysia’s adult population has diabetes, or 3.6 million people, according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS) 2023.
The call for health care investments comes amid broader debates on how GLICs should navigate between securing returns and safeguarding the retirement savings of millions of Malaysians.
During the forum, which also featured former CIMB Group Holdings Bhd chairman Nazir Razak and Universiti Malaya honorary Prof Edmund Terence Gomez, it was highlighted that 48 per cent of EPF members aged 54 have less than RM50,000 in savings.
In August, the Ministry of Finance announced that six major GLICs – Khazanah, EPF, the Retirement Fund Inc (KWAP), Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH), and the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) – committed to investing RM120 billion in domestic direct investments (DDI) over the next five years.
With a combined assets under management exceeding RM1.8 trillion, these investments will focus on high-growth industries such as energy transition, advanced manufacturing, particularly semiconductors, and support for businesses across all stages, from start-ups to mid-tier companies and public listings.
Lee, in stressing the need for health care investment, said: “10 per cent high risk does not make the entire portfolio high risk.”
Nazir addressed concerns over “risky” investments, saying: “I think this presumption that these investments are going to be high risk, just because it’s health care, for example, [is flawed] – there is health care, the sector, and there is the deal itself.
“If you look at every deal, the professionals will have to come in and package it in a way that gives the risk return that the EPF, for example, wants.
“Prof (Edmund) brought up Pembinaan PFI Sdn Bhd. I actually think EPF had a chequered past in the 80s, but since then, it’s had a good run. PFI is maybe an issue, but as far as EPF is concerned, it’s government guaranteed, so from an investment standpoint, it’s low risk to EPF.
“So, if you do a health care deal, it may be a start-up. If there’s a promoter who comes in and puts in collateral, EPF puts in capital, and they package it correctly, banks may come in with guarantees – and suddenly, it’s not a high-risk investment,” Nazir explained.
“So, we cannot assume that just because it’s in a particular sector, it’s high risk.”
Edmund added, “This is where the details matter. The devil is in the details. You can say you’re going to invest in this sector, go into industrial parks or green energy, and that’s fine. But we need clarity on how it will be done. Who are the co-investors? Is it a public-private partnership? These are the details we need to look into.”
