Citizenship and Legal Status in Healthcare: Access of Non-citizens in the ASEAN: A Comparative Case Study of Thailand and Malaysia

Abstract

The international movement of people through voluntary migration and forced displacement in the ASEAN is driven by economic inequalities within and between countries, and political and ethnic conflict. Using case examples of Malaysia and Thailand which espouse the neoliberal model of migration and development, and which are both guided by concerns of national security and economic efficiency in healthcare, this chapter appraises their contrasting models of health systems in the way healthcare access of migrant populations is conceptualised. Examining this issue from a comparative foundation and exploring the entitlement of a range of non-citizens to healthcare through the lens of documentation status, citizenship, and moral deservingness, this chapter demonstrates how borders move within national boundaries as neoliberal policies influence the normative frameworks underpinning health systems and the access of non-citizens to healthcare.