Privatising Water and Health Services in Malaysia?

Panelists in this forum included Y.B. Lee Kah Choon, Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Health; Mr. Teo Yen Hua, Deputy Secretary General II of the Ministry of Energy, Water and Communications; Dr. Xavier Jayakumar, Deputy Secretary General of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Health Services Privatisation); Mr. Marimuthu Nadason, President of the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Implications to consumers); and Mr. Charles Santiago, Director of the Monitoring Sustainability of Globalisation. The panel discussion was moderated by Mrs. Norina Yahya.

There was a consensus that there has been a lack of communication between the government and civil society organizations and a general lack of transparency in the process of decision making on privatisation. The civil society claims that the government has not included the civil society in the consultative process on plans to privatise water supply and healthcare in Malaysia. Dr. Xavier Jayakumar said “We have written hundreds of letters (to the Ministry) and knocked on their doors for so long, asking for a sit down discussion, but they haven’t even offered us a meeting. What kind of consultation process is this if civil society is not included?” He continued “How are we supposed to trust what the government says when decisions on matters of such high public interest are done without our knowledge?”

The above view is shared by Mr. Charles Santiago who dismissed the consultation sessions as mere ‘briefings’. He also rebutted the statement by fellow panelist – Mr. Teo Yen Hua – that civil society members were invited to the discussion table at each step of the process. “What kind of consultation session is it when all we do is to receive sheets of briefing papers that were drawn up by government officials only? It is unfair to even call these sessions as consultations”, said Mr. Santiago. He then continued “What is needed is transparency, accountability and good governance without the interference of politicians serving their own agenda.”

Mr. Marimuthu Nadason compared the briefings to a father and son relationship. He said “the actual situation is analogous to a father and son relationship where the son would just say ‘Dad, I am playing futsal tomorrow’ without asking for permission or his father’s opinion. This is what it is like when we are informed of a decision only after it has been taken without being asked for our opinions”.

During the question and answer sessions, Mr. K. Koris, the Vice President of FOMCA, accused Minister of Energy, Water and Communications Dr. Lim Keng Yaik of making false claims that NGOs had been consulted and their views considered in making the recent decision to scrap the national water privatization plans. Koris said “Keng Yaik has made a blatant lie. His statement is very misleading when in fact the only initiative for discussion was made not by the government but by (Parliamentary Opposition Leader) Lim Kit Siang.

Ministry of Health Parliamentary Secretary YB. Lee Kah Choon assured the audience that they will be kept abreast of the national healthcare financing proposals once any concrete decisions have been made. He cited the importance of the issue as the reason for the lack of information at this point, as it necessitates careful evaluation by the government before any information is released to the public. He said, “We have done a number of studies that still cannot be declassified as yet as it is such an important topic that requires thorough consideration on our part. It is not simply a matter of receiving recommendations by independent consultants and then coming up with a plan. A lot of time needs to be taken before we can disclose anything, but rest assured it will reach public knowledge when the time is right.” On the question of the possibility to identify the consultant on the healthcare financing scheme proposal, YB Lee replied “I am telling you the truth by saying that I do not know who the consultant is. Yes, I know many people may be cynical but it is true, I don’t know who it is or whether it is a local or foreign entity. I don’t see any reason why it (consultant’s identity) can’t be shared with the public though. I will relay your request to the Minister and see what happens from there.”

YB Lee also said that “we are merely tackling a long pressing issue that has been mulled in the past 20 years. Trust us to thinking on our own without following blindly whatever our consultants recommend. The bottom line is that we want to find a way to finance healthcare that doesn’t entail privatisation. If we are told that this is not an option, we will put our foot down and not take up the proposal. Have some confidence in us, we know what to do.”

The coverage of this panel discussion and debate can also be visualized at www.malaysia.tv