KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 — The government will continue with efforts to set up a Health Services Commission despite it not being clearly stated in the Health White Paper approved at the recent Parliament sitting.

Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa told Utusan Malaysia that the ministry is currently researching suitable models from other countries and is aiming to establish the commission in the next 15 years.

"The White Paper is actually a concept paper and throughout the 15-year period, the government will look for elements towards establishing a Health Services Commission. The matter has been discussed at the ministry level.

"The ministry needs to study many models to form the commission, and if there is one that suits our country, we will follow. That is why during my presentation in the Dewan Rakyat I mentioned the ‘monitoring body’ and that body will actually monitor the journey to realise the establishment of the Health Services Commission in the next 15 years,” she was quoted as saying.

Among those who also called for the establishment of the commission are the Hartal Doktor Kontrak group, the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and former deputy minister of health who is also a cardiothoracic specialist, Dr Lee Boon Chye.

Dr Lee had lauded the effort, saying it was a new and unique direction from other government services especially in terms of human resources and expertise.

For example, if the appointment of Ministry of Health staff continues to be supervised by the Public Service Commission (SPA) and the Public Service Department (JPA), it will cause issues such as emoluments for ministry staff to be more limited.

"It is difficult if you only follow SPA and JPA because it needs to be across the board. If you want doctors’ salaries to go up, then the salaries of engineers, lawyers and others also need to go up. So, it is up to the government what model is proposed in the commission that is being developed in terms of its enforcement and administration.

Malaysian Association of Public Health Physicians president Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar however casted doubts on the plans especially because the matter was not mentioned in the Health White Paper and described the 15-year plan as a "political promise” by the current government.

"The period of 15 years is too long — can the unity government even survive for that long?

"Fifteen years is just a political promise. Three years is already long enough. I have been in the medical field for almost 40 years and seen many situations. If they really want to establish it, it must be written in an official document, then the public will know the government’s commitment.

"However, if the government has the willingness and commitment to establish it, I still support it because it involves national health reform, especially in terms of human resources, namely contract doctors and medical experts,” he said.

On June 15, the Dewan Rakyat approved the proposal for the Health White Paper after receiving the support of a majority of MPs.

Experts in the field say that there is a need for a national Health Services Commission separate from the JPA to manage the staffing, training and career growth of healthcare workers.