ABSTRACT
After Independence in 1957, the health care system in Malaysia was for many years practically a national health service. Although primary care was provided by both the public and private sectors, the rural areas were almost entirely served by a wide network of government health clinics and hospitals rapidly developed in the 1960s. The private sector general practitioner was an important feature, but was usually only found in urban areas. As the country was predominantly rural, the importance of government health services was therefore unquestioned. Hospital care was primarily provided by the public sector, although there were non-profit Christian mission hospitals and charity hospitals that had been established by the Chinese community. Other than the ubiquitous general practitioners in the towns, health care services were almost totally provided by the federal government, and funded through the national budget.
