THE 15th General Election (GE15) is an opportunity to gauge the interest, concern and commitment of political parties regarding health and social care in Malaysia, said the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy.
This also includes the political parties’ understanding and appreciation of the urgency for action, as well as their willingness to commit political capital to address key issues.
“Healthcare has rarely, if ever, been the focus of political debate in any election campaign, much less a general election. Many believe that health should not, in fact, be politicised. That should change,” commented Galen Centre CEO Azrul Mohd Khalib.
The group had unveiled a document detailing what the group thinks is needed from the manifestos or pledges of political parties aspiring to be the new government.
It also warned, among others, that the huge annual allocations for health were still inadequate.
“It is sobering to realise that the proposed increase of RM3.7 bil in the allocation as announced in the recent Budget 2023 would practically be wiped out by the cost of treating diabetes (estimated around RM 3.1 bil annually),” it said.
Azrul also noted that the coming GE15 provides an opportunity for Malaysians to ask those running for office not only their fixes for existing problems but also their plans for the future of the country’s healthcare sector.
“There is no magic wand, or expecting someone else to take up the burden of responsibility for much needed reforms. Strong commitments, including strengthening policies and necessary financial and human resources, to proposed reforms are needed. Not five or ten years from now. Today,” he emphasised.
He stressed that any aspiring political party or coalition wanting to form a new government that wants to demonstrate that it is serious about improving the general health and wellbeing of Malaysians need to effectively address four critical issues, namely healthcare financing, non-communicable diseases, mental health and ageing population.
“If the political parties do not have at least three out of the four listed, that means that they are not serious about ongoing and future challenges impacting the state of health of Malaysians, and instead kicking the problem down to another government to solve, or worse pretending that these issues are not relevant to the electorate,” he pointed out.
Azrul went on to say that the next government should be able to take unpopular measures such as taxation and regulation to ensure better health services for the public.
“We urge all parties to read our document and see whether their manifestos meet expectations on health,” he elaborated.
“We will be reading and evaluating the respective manifestos of the main political parties and coalitions, and will not hesitate to highlight the good, the bad as well as the ugly when it comes to health.
“Malaysia is facing multiple crises of health and social care. We cannot afford half measures.” – Oct 21, 2022
Main photo credit: CodeBlue
