PKR today urged the government to truly honour its words to restudy the proposed healthcare insurance scheme 1Care and avoid flip-flopping as happened to the Lynas radioactive waste plan.

In view of Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai's recent statement that the healthcare model used in the scheme has not been finalised, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail cautioned that the prime minister might not echo such a guarantee.

"(On the Lynas issue), the government first gave the assurance that the radioactive waste from Lynas is safe enough to be stored in Gebeng, Pahang, Liow then announced that it must be sent back to Australia.

NONE "Soon, however, the PM declared that the waste will be stored in another location far away from any settlement," she said in a statement," Wan Azizah ( left ) said.

The former government doctor by profession added that the government should push for more transparent health expenditure, rather than introducing 1Care.

"WHO has also estimated that 20 to 40 percent of government expenditure in health has been wasted on inefficiencies including corruption.

"Thus an increase in government expenditure for health combined with a more transparent and efficient system will greatly improve the health system in Malaysia without the need to resort to 1Care," she said.

Wan Azizah said PKR is agreeable to the setting up of an independent commission to ensure that health, as a vital human right, is sufficiently protected and wipe out the existing inequality between public and private health sectors.

"We are not against the private health sector, which has played a crucial role in contributing to the nation's well-being today, but we want the inequalities that exist today to be addressed to ensure that quality healthcare remains accessible for all," she said.