KUALA LUMPUR - The Covid-19 pandemic and four different health ministers in as many years have exposed the deep fault lines of Malaysia’s strained public healthcare system, with policy changes needed to address longstanding issues such as staff shortage and inadequate facilities.

Last Friday, the emergency department of a Klang hospital had to stop accepting non-critical patients due to patient overload. This came just days after a heart patient at Serdang Hospital died after waiting for 30 hours for a bed in the public hospital. Both facilities are located in Selangor state.