I refer to the Malaysiakini letter Healthcare services here beyond compare . With due respect, I beg to differ and I am speaking from personal experience.

My wife about eight years ago had woke up screaming in pain, pale and close to losing consciousness when we reached the emergency ward of a government hospital. She was spotting blood and we duly informed the staff that she was about two months pregnant.

However, when the doctor finally showed up she had stabilised and was no longer in distress.

After asking if the pain had lessened, the doctor promptly discharged her with some Panadol, urging us to bring her back if the pain recurred.

Two days, later while at work she fainted and was rushed to a private hospital by her colleagues who had been told about the earlier encounter with the government doctor. After medical tests, she was operated on immediately and the surgeon collected about 120 ml of blood from her womb.

The diagnosis? Ectopic pregnancy .

About three to four months later, I read in the papers that a husband was suing another government hospital because his wife literally bled to death after three days in the hospital. Cause? Ectopic pregnancy which tragically went undetected.

I realised I am a very lucky man because my wife' s co-workers had chosen to send her to a private hospital. The other husband had no choice simply because the rural town he resided at does not have and cannot possibly support a private hospital.

Don't get me wrong, I have all the respect for our poorly paid, overworked doctors who slog unselfishly and tirelessly in our often badly maintained medical facilities. But what good is a RM1 fee if the medical expertise is sadly lacking and could easily lead to grief for our poorer countrymen who have no access to private hospitals?

What we need is a revamp of our medical education system and hopefully this will raise our standards to be on par with our much respected Singaporean neighbour. We have the talents as evidenced by the attainments of our students year after year. Let's offer scholarships to the top students who want to take up medicine to help salvage our reputation as a respected centre for medical education and expertise which we enjoyed during our early years after independence.

By the way, Brunei offers free medical help and whatever tests plus medicines to all children under 12 whose parents are on valid work permits.