1Malaysia Clinics-the Bane of Private Practice?

Budget 2010 was certainly an experimental budget. There was nothing in it but skin and bone.

Many felt it was benign,unpalatable and forgettable. In fact some of the measures have been thrown out even before Budget 2010 can be put into force. Case in point: All old jalopies beyond 15 years be subjected to Puspakom inspection before road tax could be renewed. After facing public outcry, it was summarily removed.

Next, came the silly credit card tax. Whoever advised on this must be out of his mind. There will always be those who abuse credit cards. Blacklist them and take them to court. For the others who managed their cards well, should they be penalized? The reply is a flat "No!". However, the mentality of policy makers these days is hard to fathom. Then there is the 5% Real Property Gains Tax(RPGT), a regressive tax resurrected from yesteryear. Non-speculative sellers irrespective of how old their houses are given the sad, bad treatment. How unfair!

The sudden and sneaky introduction of the so-called '1Malaysia clinics' to be manned by medical assistants, instead of doctors, and to be located in urban locales have now piqued nearly all private medical practitioners in the country. In the Klang Valley and other urban conurbations, being in private practice is no longer the same. Gone are the good money raking days. This will certainly put pressure on new private doctors just after their contract with the government sector.

Budget 2010 is an experimental budget in failure. Do you agree?