He must prove that that the treatment at the government hospital though available, is grossly inadequate. This may be due to lack of trained doctors in that particular field or for some other good reasons. As pointed out by Kamalanathan Ratnam JC in Chong Chee Kong with whom I agree, we are concerned with treatment, not accommodation. 60 If the court is not satisfied that the plaintiff is justified to seek treatment at a private hospital then, depending on the facts and the circumstances of each case, the court should either dismiss the claim altogether as was done by the Supreme Court in Pengarah Institut Perubatan & Anor and by this court in Hj Ariffin Hj Ismail or award an amount not exceeding one-third of the expenses as was done by the Supreme Court in Tang Sia Bak. It must be noted that the one-third is nowhere fixed by any written law. It is a matter of practice. If it is shown that in a particular case, S/N lexGxdvwn0qiVSL1MHsBA even one-third is excessive, considering the expenses that otherwise would have been incurred in a government hospital, an amount less than one-third may be awarded. 61 Now, assuming that the plaintiff has crossed the first hurdle and the court is satisfied that the plaintiff is justified in seeking medical treatment at a private hospital, the plaintiff must prove that the expenses incurred and the amount claimed is reasonable taking into consideration normal charges at other local private hospitals. The court may award what it considers to be a reasonable amount which may even be the full amount claimed.” [5] Ini bermakna bahawa Plaintif mempunyai hak untuk mendapatkan rawatan daripada hospital swasta berdasarkan kepada prinsip seseorang itu berhak untuk mendapat rawatan yang terbaik terhadap kecederaan yang dialaminya. Ini telah dinyatakan juga oleh Mahkamah Rayuan dalam kes Nurul Husna Muhammad Hafiz & Anor v. Kerajaan Malaysia & Ors [2015] 1 CLJ 825 seperti berikut: “[29] I accept the plaintiffs' counsel's contention that a reduction in the quantum of damages based on the promise from the tortfeasor to provide free medical treatment to the victim of the tort is contrary to legal principle nor would the contractual obligations (arising from the second plaintiff's employment by the first defendant) be a ground to reduce damages. Nor should damages be reduced by virtue of any statutory duty of the government to provide medical care to the first plaintiff by virtue of her incapacity. S/N lexGxdvwn0qiVSL1MHsBA [30] ….. [31] Likewise, here, the first plaintiff's entitlement to compensatory damages for the negligence of the defendants cannot be reduced or diminished even though the second plaintiff, and the first plaintiff as child and dependent of the second plaintiff, are entitled to free medical care by virtue of the second plaintiff's contract of employment with the government and/or by virtue of the first plaintiff's status as a disable person ('orang kurang upaya') who is afforded free medical care in the government hospitals under the existing policies of the current government. The contractual rights flowing from the second plaintiff's contract of employment is not permanent and if that contract were to be terminated by any party then the contractual right to free medical care is extinguished. In any event the second plaintiff cannot be curtailed of her right to leave her government employment in the future and be tied down. Likewise, government policies are not permanent in nature. The provision of free medical care in government healthcare facilities for disable persons may change in the future, as all government policies are susceptible to change from time to time. [32] In Malaysia, the provision of healthcare by the government is not a matter regulated by statute. It is a matter of mere policy. A public officer who causes loss through his or her unlawful conduct has no right to receive a subsidy from the taxpayer. The victims of negligence caused by a public officer have no statutory right of assistance from the state. These victims would have to institute S/N lexGxdvwn0qiVSL1MHsBA civil proceedings against the tortfeasors and seek compensation in the form of damages. If the government is vicariously ordered to pay such damages then it may subject the wrongdoer to a surcharge action under the general orders. That is entirely between the government and the public officer.” [6] Walau bagaimanapun dalam kes Inas Faiqah Mohd Helmi (A Child Suing Through Her Father and Next Friend; Mohd Helmi Abdul Aziz) v. Kerajaan Malaysia & Ors [2016] 2 CLJ 885 Mahkamah Persekutuan menyatakan seperti berikut berkaitan isu ini. “[36] In this respect, we are in agreement with the contention of the appellant that the case of Chai Yee Chong is not relevant to the present case. We respectfully say that the Court of Appeal had erred in coming to its conclusion that the award made by the learned trial judge was in line with the current practice on the strength of the decision in Chai Yee Chong, which is a case concerning a claim for past private medical treatment. In determining a claim for future medical treatment, be it at a private, or at a public hospital, the question of reasonableness in making such a claim should always be the paramount consideration. The plaintiff not only needs to justify, for instance, why he chooses treatment at a private hospital over a public one, but he must also shows that the amount claimed for such treatment is reasonable. Of course this can be satisfied by the production of compelling evidence for that purpose. It is to be noted that in claiming for the cost of future damage in Gleneagles, evidence was led as to the S/N lexGxdvwn0qiVSL1MHsBA cost of rehabilitation care of the first respondent and the costing was obtained from the private hospitals/centres. [37] Nevertheless, in the present case, we found that the learned trial judge had considered the reasons advanced by the appellant in claiming for the cost for future medical treatment at the private hospital and was not persuaded to award the full cost claimed by the appellant. The learned trial judge had given her reasons for awarding only one-third of the amount claimed by the appellant. We affirm the award made by the learned trial judge in this respect, but on a different ground. We found that the amount awarded by the learned trial judge was fair and reasonable, and we do not find any justification to disturb the same.” [7] Namun demikian Mahkamah perlu berhati-hati dalam kes Inas Faiqah Mohd Helmi (supra). Ia adalah berkaitan dengan tuntutan kecuaian perubatan dan tuntutan berkaitan dengan kos gantirugi pada masa hadapan (future damages). [8] Sebaliknya dalam kes ini tuntutan adalah berkaitan dengan kemalangan jalan raya yang mana simati telahpun meninggal dunia setelah mendapatkan rawatan daripada Sunway Medical Centre. Apa yang lebih menarik ialah bayaran tersebut dibuat oleh oleh syarikat insurans yang telah melindungi simati untuk bayaran hospital yang berkenaan. S/N lexGxdvwn0qiVSL1MHsBA [9] Hakim Mahkamah Sesyen telah menolak tuntutan RM 583,265.66 atas alasan Perayu tidak dapat menunjukkan bahawa rawatan sedemikian tidak boleh didapati dari hospital kerajaan. Ia meliputi ketiadaan keterangan bahawa rawatan di hospital swasta itu diperlukan di dalam ketiadaan rawatan yang serupa di hospital kerajaan. [10] Hakim Mahkamah Sesyen juga berpendapat tiada keterangan yang menunjukkan bahawa waris simati telah membayar premium untuk insurans perubatan yang digunakan untuk membayar amaun tersebut kepada hospital swasta. Ini ditambah pula dengan kad perubatan telah terbatal. Ini dinyatakan di perenggan [68] dan [69] alasan penghakiman Hakim Mahkamah Sesyen. [11] Begitu juga dengan rawatan perubatan di Hospital Tung Shin, Columbia Asia Extended Care Hospital, University Malaya Specialist Centre dan Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya ditolak oleh Hakim Mahkamah Sesyen atas alasan tuntutan ini tidak dibuktikan oleh Perayu. Ini dapat dilihat di perenggan [70] alasan penghakiman Hakim Mahkamah Sesyen. [12] Fakta juga menunjukkan bahawa sebaik sahaja kemalangan menimpa simati, mendiang telah mendapatkan rawatan di Hospital Temerloh dan laporan perubatan telah disediakan. Setelah selang beberapa bulan dan mendapatkan pandangan daripada hospital-hospital yang lain keluarga simati telah membuat keputusan untuk mendapatkan rawatan di Sunway Medical Centre dengan menggunakan insurans kesihatan yang telah membuat bayaran S/N lexGxdvwn0qiVSL1MHsBA sejumlah RM583,265.66 kepada Sunway Medical Centre. Penelitian kepada laporan perubatan yang disediakan oleh Hospital Temerloh juga tidak menunjukkan sebarang cadangan dibuat untuk rawatan lanjut di tempat lain. [13] Penelitian kepada Rekod Rayuan menunjukkan bahawa terdapat laporan perubatan yang disediakan oleh Hospital Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Temerloh bertarikh 25.09.2017 di halaman 320 Rekod Rayuan Jilid 2 berkenaan dengan kesihatan ekoran daripada kemalangan tersebut. Begitu juga terdapat laporan perubatan daripada Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan Kuantan bertarikh 02.11.2017 di halaman 323 Rekod Rayuan Jilid 2 di mana dinyatakan bahawa rawatan susulan akan dibuat dan tidak mencadangkan rawatan lanjutan dibuat di hospital yang lain. Dalam diagnosa dalam laporan tersebut telah dinyatakan seperti berikut: