The Malaysian public will never know the specifics required of the government-appointed consultants for the proposed health financing scheme, thanks to the Official Secrets Act 1972.

Last week, the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) denied a request for a copy of the Terms of Reference (TOR) for the consultants on grounds that it was classified as 'sulit' - confidential.

The letter was addressed to EPU principal assistant director Daisy Rajoo by the Coalition Against Healthcare Privatisation comprising representatives from 80 civil society and consumer groups.

The request, made on Dec 14 following a collective suggestion at a public forum attended by 120 people three days earlier, was for details of the consultants, TOR and when work will start.

It the reply dated Jan 24, Shamsiah Dahaban said on behalf of the EPU director-general said that the TOR cannot be distributed due to its classification.

An assurance was given that the suggestions and recommendations made by the coalition will be considered when selecting the consultant and in the implementation of the National Health Financing Scheme.

The letter also stated that the consultants were "expected to start their study in February 2006".

Pursuant to concerns raised at the December forum over the use of United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) funds to appoint the consultant, the coalition requested for a copy of the TOR in a similar request to Dr Richard Leete (right).

Leete, the resident representative for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, has not replied to the coalition and could not be reached today as he is currently abroad.

Yesterday, the UNDP posted an online local job advertisement for a project officer on a one-year contract to "develop a proposal for the implementation of the National Healthcare Financing Mechanism".

Opaque stance

Contacted today, coalition secretary Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj said the reply was very disappointing.

"If they are going to be so opaque over the TOR, can we then expect a transparent process when it comes to the administration of the funds, outsourcing of services, etc?

"This is really shoddy of the government and the EPU. The cabinet is definitely not unaware of the whole thing."

He noted that the appointment of the consultants was shrouded in secrecy.

"In one line, the government says it will take into account our concerns but the following line seems to indicate that the consultants have already been appointed."

He said it was only fair that the TOR be made public.

"We are not talking about military secrets or defense matters here. This is about public funds and public healthcare."

The TOR, he said, formed "an integral part of the dialogue" with the parties concerned which includes the consultants.

"If we know what the TOR are, we can address our questions and concerns to the appropriate parties who are handling different aspects of the project."

'Who's doing what?'

He said some matters need to be discussed with the Health Ministry while others were for the consultants' consideration.

"(But) such a reply is in line with all other concession agreements such as the North-South Highway and the Selangor water privatisation projects where, until today, we still do not know what the terms of reference are."

Jeyakumar said coalition members planned to distribute public awareness pamphlets at general hospitals in major cities next week.

"Since we can't get a decent dialogue with the government, we want to take the issue straight to the people to alert them to what's happening."

He suspects the government is merely "buying time and humouring us" by dishing out as it wished bits and pieces of information related to the privatisation exercise.

Since the late 1990s, civil society groups have been insisting on a full disclosure of healthcare privatisation proposals to thwart backdoor attempts that lack sound mechanisms.

The coalition believes that a lack of information and transparency has left the proposed reform "full of holes".