KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 5 — The criticisms of potential inequalities from Rakan KKM are based on Malaysians’ lived experiences with a similar service that has existed for years in university hospitals.
Several patients related personal anecdotes across the public health care system – in both Ministry of Health (MOH) facilities and university hospitals run by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) – at the launch of Parti Sosialis Malaysia’s (PSM) “Save The Health Care System” campaign here last August 13.
An audience member at the event, who was diagnosed with a brain tumour, said he had two options: either wait months in the public service or pay for faster treatment at UM Specialist Centre (UMSC), the private wing of Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), also known as PPUM.
At that time, the man said he didn’t know yet if he had cancer. But he was covered by health insurance.
“The neurosurgeon told me that I had two options. If I wanted to do the operation at PPUM, in the public sector, he said ‘we don’t know how long it will take; it could be six months or longer’,” the man told the PSM forum.
“But if I wanted to do it at UMSC, tomorrow also can. Luckily I had insurance, so I could do it as soon as possible. I waited just two weeks. So the fact that I’m here today shows that it wasn’t cancerous, but I didn’t know that at the time. Brain tumour is a very serious condition.”
The man noted that the operating room, health care professionals like specialist doctors and nurses, and equipment are “all the same” as they’re shared between UMMC and UMSC.
“But you can operate much faster. That’s the only difference, but you have to pay. So, luckily I could pay with insurance,” he said. “If my tumour had been cancerous, I could have literally died.”
The man condemned the principle of privatisation in general that he also applied to Rakan KKM. Rakan KKM, which has yet to launch, is planned to run in floors in certain government hospitals.
On the other hand, UMSC, a quaternary hospital, operates its own building, even though certain facilities, equipment, and human resources are taken from the public wing.
“Basically, the principle is: the poor can go and die. I think that is the principle of private and public hospitals – the poor can die. The rest of you, if you are T20 or whatever, welcome, we will sell you more private hospitals, get more treatment – and this is also the private wing of public hospitals which is part of the MOH.”
Among PSM’s demands are to cancel Rakan KKM that the party believes will lengthen patients’ waiting times in the public sector, due to additional workloads posed by the new private service on scarce specialists.
In his most recent remarks on the controversial issue in Parliament, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad again indicated much shorter waiting times in Rakan KKM than the public service, using total knee replacement surgery as an example.
Heart Patient’s Cardiology Appointment At UMMC Postponed Eight Months
An elderly heart patient has had his cardiology appointment at UMMC pushed from November this year to June 2026, nearly two years since his last consultation.
The patient, who spoke at PSM’s event, said his consultation had been replaced with routine prescription renewals.
PSM organised the event to highlight patient experiences and criticise the government’s proposed Rakan KKM scheme, which the socialist party warned would worsen waiting times for poor and middle-income patients.
“I go to UMMC and you can see a lot of people have issues waiting and queueing. I’m a long-term heart patient. I got my appointment, which was supposed to be this November, but suddenly I got an SMS saying it’s going to be postponed to June next year, which means I haven’t seen a cardiologist or a trainee cardiologist – by the time I see him or her in June, it would be almost two years. They just extend my medication.
“I mean, fortunately, there’s no change in symptoms so I’m not panicking, but it is a problem. The queues are so difficult, especially in some departments, like cardiology,” said the patient.
NGO Worker: Patients Forced To Wait Hours Or Months
A woman – who works with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) and frequently brings victims to government hospitals – described day-long waits, month-long delays for basic scans, and operations held up until patients could afford surgical materials.
“Usually what happens is, let’s say the appointment is at 11 am, it takes the whole day. I will come out of the hospital at around 5.30 pm or 6 pm, and also the treatment takes a longer time. The operation too.
“Sometimes the victims have to wait because the surgery is free, but if they need a plate or other parts, they have to wait for a longer time until they get the money,” she said.
The woman recalled her own case of a lump in her throat. “I had to wait for one month just for an X-ray scan. When I asked the nurse, they said, ‘We can’t do anything because every day we receive 200 patients in this hospital.’
“It’s just an X-ray, I have to wait for a month. After that, I have to wait for another month to see the doctor. I don’t know if the lump in my lung is cancerous or not, but if it is cancerous, it takes a longer time, it will be dangerous.”
Psychiatric Patient: Short Consultations And No Privacy
One audience member, who has bipolar disorder, shared her difficulties seeking psychiatric treatment at a government clinic, citing long waits, rushed consultations, and a lack of privacy.
“It took a long time to wait for our turn and during the consultation, it took only 10 minutes because there were so many patients, so many patients. That’s why the consultation time was short and the doctor was very direct.
“It didn’t feel like they (the doctors) were really there because there were so many patients waiting, and maybe they were burnt out themselves because of lack of doctors and staff.
“And then in one consultation room, there were two doctors and two patients, so there was no privacy and confidentiality. The government should spend more money to make more rooms so that people can talk about their problems freely and comfortably,” she said.
She also shared that in 2022, there was a shortage of one of the psychiatric medications. “One of my friends was affected by it and we didn’t know why the shortage happened.”
Beyond psychiatric care, she described difficulties seeking treatment for other conditions. After a fall that caused a slipped disc, she sought help at an orthopaedic clinic.
“The waiting time was eight hours, which is like going to work,” she shared.
“Plus, you have back pain. Can you imagine me sitting down for a long time? What more for the elderly, people with disabilities, it’s really hard for them to sit for prolonged periods, like eight hours. Again, it’s because of the lack of doctors and staff.”
Her father, who suffered an accident and heart failure, also faced delays at the emergency department. “To wait for a bed it took more than 24 hours – and he has a heart failure.”
Lorry Driver On RM1,700 Salary: Low-Income Families Feel Left Behind
A lorry driver earning RM1,700 monthly said his wife’s orthopaedic surgery had been repeatedly postponed, leaving his family struggling with uncertainty.
“If I go to the hospital, for surgery or whatever, this system is useless for me. Because it wants to make two classes, one for the poor, one for the rich. I’m not rich, I’m an ordinary person. So this Rakan KKM system makes things hard for me.
“My wife is also a patient. She had a back operation, also orthopaedic, also had to be postponed, postponed, postponed. It’s really difficult. If it’s like this, I don’t know what the Madani government is thinking. Do they want to take care of the people or the rich? That’s my view.”
‘The Poor Can Go and Die’
The testimonies highlighted by PSM point to recurring problems in Malaysia’s public health care: postponed specialist appointments, long queues for basic services, drug shortages, and inequities between public and private treatment options.
Patients said the system left them waiting for months or even years, while those with insurance or savings could secure faster care. As the brain tumour patient bluntly put it: “Basically, the principle is: the poor can go and die.”
