the Mahathir premiership in the 1980s, where private
hospital beds increased nearly 10-fold (from 1171 to 10405
between 1980 to 2003), and the private sector’s share of
hospital beds increased from 3.9-5.8% to 23.4-26.7%.17,18
On average over the years depending on the economic
circumstances, this private sector constitutes around 55% of
all registered doctors, who look after some 25% of the
population, most on a self-paying fee-for-service
arrangement, and increasingly through some third party
paying (e.g. health insurance) mechanisms.19