Zaliha vows to push health reforms and increase in expenditure

PETALING JAYA: From once serving as a doctor with the Health Ministry to being the Health Minister, life has come full circle for Dr Zaliha Mustafa (pic), the first woman minister to helm the portfolio.

In a recent interview with The Star, the 59-year-old mother of four recounted her journey from the medical field to the political arena, leading to the top job in the Health Ministry.

Born and bred in Johor, the eldest of eight siblings started her schooling at Sekolah Rendah Perempuan Sultan Ibrahim (SIGS) and was later accepted into Maktab Rendah Sains Mara in Kota Baru, Kelantan.

“I did exceptionally well in my SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia) exams in Form Five, which enabled me to study medicine at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

“After graduating, I did my housemanship at Hospital Sultanah Aminah in Johor Baru from 1989 to 1990. I then went on to become a medical officer at Pekan District Hospital and Taiping General Hospital before going into private practice with Penawar Group,” she recalled.

Her foray into politics began in 1999 with the then-fledgling Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), coinciding with the start of the Reformasi movement which is synonymous with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s political struggle and the party’s crusade.

“It was never my dream to be a minister. My political journey started during the Reformasi period with the mass movement in reaction to Anwar’s detention in 1999. It was then all about restoring justice.

“Entering PKR with zero experience in politics, I challenged myself to develop, lean in, equip myself and improve my leadership skills,” said Dr Zaliha.

She went on to hold several posts in the party, including as Johor PKR women’s chief and the state chief, and subsequently, the national PKR deputy chief for the women’s wing in 2007.

She was also appointed a member of the party’s central leadership council and the chairman of its party elections committee.

Dr Zaliha served as the political secretary to Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail when the latter was the deputy prime minister and the women, family and community development minister in the Pakatan Harapan government after the 14th General Election.

“I have experience of leadership at every level in the party,” said the Sekijang MP, who previously contested in Johor for the Tanjung Puteri state seat in 2004 and the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat (2008) before her victory in the 15th General Election.

Despite a political journey that has spanned over two decades, Dr Zaliha said she treated her current role as a minister as a major challenge.

“It’s definitely no easy task, especially as the Health Ministry is the second largest. It is a huge challenge and responsibility, but I hold people’s hope to see changes.

“I’d like to make changes to the lives of people who want reforms in healthcare,” said Dr Zaliha, who was appointed to the post in Anwar’s Cabinet last December.

On her plans for the ministry, she said she was committed to ensuring it received adequate allocations to address pertinent aspects of healthcare.

“I want to ensure that the ministry be given the funds to address issues involving marginal communities, health infrastructure, mental health and medicine supplies in the next budget,” she said.

She added that public healthcare expenditure needed to be increased to 5% of Malaysia’s gross domestic product within five years.