One interesting by-product in the change of political landscape in Malaysia has been the increased discourse on healthcare. Long seen as a “non-political” subject, healthcare was often used by politicians on both sides of the divide as part of their PR strategy – visiting hospitals during festive seasons, or running large-scale, one-off medical camps in their constituencies as elections loom.

This has changed. More and more Malaysians are realising that healthcare is an issue which directly impacts their daily lives. Health has social, economic, political and even religious aspects to it, as seen from the case of anti-vaxxers and the untrue justifications they make.

Just take a peek at the day’s news stories. There is bound to be at least one article on health. Healthcare has acquired a place on the national political agenda in Malaysia, and it’s a pill all of us are going to have to swallow, like it or not.

For proponents of health policy reforms, the increased “noise” about healthcare in the political landscape comes as good news. Only when health is on the political agenda can true change and reforms come about.

Just take a look at how the new government looked long and hard at health issues in Malaysia before embarking on two of the largest ever programmes, namely MySalam and the PEKAB40 programme.

Although these initiatives are built on good intentions, certain design flaws, limitations and other shortcomings are causing the government to receive flak from many different parties, not just the “traditional” groups of people who have always been concerned with health such as doctors or other healthcare professionals.

The average Malaysian on the street is now vocalising his or her opinion and concerns on healthcare. Sure, some of the issues voiced are not new, such as long waiting times or delays for specialist appointments or procedures at public clinics and hospitals. These issues have been simmering for years, occasionally surfacing after specific incidents.

But the “new” Malaysian is well-read, vocal and knowledgeable about a host of other issues as well. Members of the general public (not trained healthcare professionals) are raising questions on the quality of healthcare services, the use of generic drugs to bring down costs, the brain-drain of specialists from the public sector and even where healthcare institutions should be built or not.

Admittedly, a lot of these “energetic discussions” are being held in cyberspace. But then, the war for the hearts and minds of the public is being waged for the most part on social media pages. No one can deny the impact of social media in influencing political agendas since last May.

Should everyone be interested in the health agenda, though? At a recent forum for professionals, a colleague remarked to me: “Everybody who has no knowledge of health now wants to comment and have a say on health issues on Facebook.”

There is a saying that everyone is a prospective patient, and when everyone has the potential to fall ill, they have an important vested interest in the healthcare system and whether it works. So, on my part I say, yes.

Malaysians should be interested in ensuring that health is an issue of high priority on the political agenda and making sure it continues to stay there.

But things are not so simple. It’s all well and good to put health as a priority on the political agenda, but it’s not so simple to decide which issue gets on the agenda, because there are always two sides to the coin.

Take the recent widening of smoke-free areas to include open-air restaurants, for example. Unhappy smokers have taken the health minister to task over this and even attributed the Cameron Highlands by-election loss to them voting against the government. They also threatened similar action in the Semenyih by-election if the government did not roll back on its smoke-free laws.

I even read of one of the candidates saying restaurant owners in Semenyih would get a reprieve from the no-smoking law if he was elected. There were also promises of hospitals or clinics in the constituency, another one of those political carrots that politicians have dangled in front of voters since time immemorial.

To cut a long story short, health is perhaps becoming a part of mainstream politics in Malaysia, and the battleground will soon become clear as different stakeholders push their agendas.

This is the best opportunity for the people to continue growing the discourse on health and to drive change in providing equitable, effective healthcare for all Malaysians everywhere. So chat away!

Dr Murallitharan M is a public health physician and medical director of the National Cancer Society Malaysia.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.