KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has received an allocation of RM45.27 billion for Budget 2025, a 9.8 per cent increment from the RM41.22 billion allocated this year.
Most of the RM4.1 billion increase for MOH’s 2025 budget compared to 2024 went to operational expenditure (opex), especially emoluments.
Opex was allocated RM38.5 billion, while development expenditure (devex) was allocated RM6.7 billion.
“The Ministry of Health received the second highest allocation at RM45.3 billion, an increase from RM41.2 billion,” said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who is also finance minister, during the tabling of Budget 2025 in Parliament today.
“I have instructed the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, and related ministries to focus a little more on basic infrastructure and facilities like lobbies and toilets in hospitals. Use these allocations to fix them. Don’t say there’s not enough allocations, since allocations have increased.”
Under MOH’s 2025 budget, the allocation for devex increased only by about RM670.5 million (11 per cent) from RM6.1 billion for 2024 to RM6.7 billion for 2025.
The allocation for opex rose by about RM3.4 billion (9.6 per cent) from RM35.2 billion this year to RM38.5 billion next year.
Under the RM38.5 billion allocated for MOH’s opex, RM24.1 billion was allocated for emoluments for 2025, marking an increase of RM2.4 billion, or 10.9 per cent, from the RM21.8 billion allocated in 2024.
The 9.8 per cent increase in MOH’s overall 2025 budget from 2024 is smaller than the 13.5 per cent rise for the ministry’s 2024 budget compared to 2023.
In the new federal budget, MOH’s share of RM45.3 billion accounts for 10.7 per cent of the government’s total RM423 billion budget.
Anwar also announced, for the first time, targeted subsidies for health care, marking a major change to Malaysia’s universal health care approach.
In his speech when tabling Budget 2025 in Parliament today, Anwar said the top 15 per cent (T15) of income earners are set to pay “slightly more” for public health care, noting that all citizens, including millionaires, pay just RM1 for outpatient care in government health care facilities under the MOH.
