At a recent press conference, he highlighted 18 points on his reform agenda. A few of these have been achieved and others are at various stages of progress.
Among the key achievements are the introduction of price controls on medicines, the setting up of the health advisory council and the launch of a healthcare protection scheme for the poor, known as Peka B40.
But perhaps Dzulkefly’s most notable achievement is the smoking ban at all eateries, although full enforcement has been deferred until next year to allow for the education of smokers.
Indeed, a health think tank has called it the “most prominent health-related achievement for the Pakatan Harapan government in its first year”.
“Considering that at least 40% of Malaysians are exposed to second-hand smoke and an estimated RM2.9 billion is attributed to the treatment of tobacco-related diseases such as lung cancer, cardiovascular disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, this move will be seen as a watershed moment,” said Azrul Mohd Khalib, chief executive of the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy.
An increase of RM3 billion in the ministry budget to RM29 billion is also worthy of mention, although, at 2.35% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it falls short of the ideal 6% the country should be spending on health.
But this is something that is not lost on Dzulkefly, who has said the government is underspending on health.
The Peka B40 programme, aimed at tackling the rise of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, has the potential to succeed, according to Azrul.
“However, it needs to be better funded, include people below the age of 50 and have clear mechanisms linking people with treatment,” he said.
One of the areas in which Dzulkefly’s ministry has been found wanting is its engagement with various sectors of the public.
Azrul noted that Dzulkefly had indicated a commitment to a public-private partnership approach by engaging in dialogue and consultation with industry and sector stakeholders, but he said this had not been happening.
“The common complaint has been that these engagements continue to be few and far between, often coming late at the policy stage,” he told FMT.
A similar point has been raised with regard to the MySalam B40 health insurance scheme.
PSM central committee member Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj recently said that the finance ministry, which is spearheading the scheme, had not met with the Malaysian Medical Association and other health-related NGOs.
Dr Chakr Sri Nagara, a former president of the Association of Private Hospitals, has also noted a lack of engagement with stakeholders such as hospitals, consumer associations, healthcare insurers and medical colleges.
He said there was a need for the minister to continuously inform all health stakeholders of even the smallest of steps taken to revamp the healthcare delivery system.
Aside from a lack of engagement, there is also the lack of a clear strategy as well as a paucity of information on the key performance indicators of what the minister intends to achieve.
There have also been calls for the formulation of a proper and holistic national health policy for the country and also the revamp of the current dichotomous structure into an integrated national healthcare system.
If the recent press conference is anything to go by, Dzulkefly is certainly committed to overhauling the national healthcare delivery system.
He said long-term measures would be needed in this overhaul and that fire fighting would not cut it.
“While I know we have begun the improvements, I am confident many more have yet to be achieved,” he said. “But we have started embarking on reforms and change.”