Mahathir has inadvertently admitted that the government had wanted to privatise general hospitals which was shelved temporarily as a result of strong Barisan Alternative opposition

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Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang 

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Speaking at the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) dinner last night, Mahathir said that the people did not realise that the government was sincere in trying to improve the medical service when it announced plans to "privatise" hospitals, but "privatisation of the hospitals is not the solution as the issue will be used by the opposition to bring down the government instead".

What is significant in Mahathir’s speech is that this was the first time the Prime Minister had admitted that the government’s earlier plan was the privatisation and not just the corporatisation of general hospitals.

Until Mahathir’s speech at the MMA dinner last night, the Health Minister, Datuk Chua Jui Meng had repeatedly maintained that the government had no intention to "privatise" general hospitals, but only to "corporatise" them.

Although the government has announced the shelving of the government’s "corporatisation" or actually "privatisation" plan for general hospitals, there is no guarantee that this privatisation plan would not be resurrected after the next general election if the Barisan Nasional is returned with a thumping two-thirds parliamentary majority.

In fact, it was because of the prominent role played by to  Dr. Jeyakumar Devaraj, Consultant Chest Physician at Ipoh Hospital and an ExCo member of the Citizens' Health Initiative,  in initiating public consciousness and opposition to the proposed  corporatisation and privatisation of government healthcare that the Health Ministry has decided on Jeyakumar’s punitive  and summary transfer to Sarawak from August 1, 1999, giving him only five days’ notice.

Dr. Jeyakumar, who is on medical leave, has appealed against the summary transfer order, which smacks of victimisation and a gross abuse of administrative discretion and power  for his community work  but the government has refused to relent and rescind the transfer order.
 
This is not the first attempt to try to transfer Dr. Jeyakumar, as there had been  two previous attempts to transfer him, to Kuantan and to Alor Setar, although both these orders were subsequently revoked.

Yesterday, I had asked in Parliament during   question time  on Dr. Jeyakumar’s arbitrary and punitive transfer to Sarawak. The Health Minister, Datuk Chua Jui Meng defended the government’s action and said:
 

"Pertukaran Dr. Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj ke Sarawak adalah berdasarkan kepada kepentingan perkhidmatan di mana kepakaran beliau dalam bidang perubatan dada sangat-sangat diperlukan di Negeri Sarawak pada ketika ini. Ini adalah selaras dengan hasrat Kerajaan untuk mempertingkatkan tahap kesihatan penduduk secara menyeluruh dari masa ke semasa.  Perkara ini juga bukanlah merupakan perkara baru di dalam mana-mana perkhidmatan Kerajaan di mana pegawai pada kebiasaannya akan ditukarkan dari satu tempat ke satu tempat lain berdasarkan kepada keperluan perkhidmatan yang mendesak pada satu-satu ketika."

Chua Jui Meng’s answer is completely unacceptable as it evades the whole issue of Jeyakumar being a victim of gross abuse of administrative discretion and power and the need for  more consultative, accountable and less arbitrary  administrative procedures for staff transfers in the national primary healthcare system.
 
(4/11/99)