KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has expressed hope that the 1Care healthcare scheme, which will be implemented in Malaysia soon, will not only benefit and enrich the life of a certain group of people.
Instead, its president, Dr. Mary Suma Cardosa, said the implementation of such a healthcare scheme should take into account the interests of all people for the long term.
She said the MMA would continue to monitor the progress of the scheme from time to time to ensure that it would really benefit all.
“Therefore, we would like to ask the Ministry of Health to take into account the public opinion on this matter as it has raised great concerns among the people.
“The public can also play a proactive role by monitoring the progress of the scheme,” she said when interviewed in “Dalam Radar” programme on Bernama Radio24.
The implementation of the 1Care scheme became a hot topic of debate following rumours that 10 per cent of a worker’s salary would be channelled to the ensure success of the scheme and that it would be forced on every citizen.
Meanwhile, a Fellow of Academy of Medicine of Malaysia, Prof Dr Rosmawati Mohamad explained that the public concern over the 1Care scheme was due to lack of information.
She said the perception that the implementation of the 1Care scheme was to replace the existing national healthcare scheme was not true.
This is because the real purpose for the 1Care scheme is to strengthen the national healthcare system to enable all Malaysians to have fair access to health care services, she said.
Rosmawati also hoped that the director-general of Health would meet with the people soon, not only for comments and feedback, but also to offer suitable explanations on the issue. — Bernama