The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) welcomes the RM40 billion allocation for the health sector under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) and the government’s commitment to strengthening the public health system.
Addressing critical shortages in health care workers must be prioritised, as this continues to be one of the biggest challenges faced by our public health care facilities.
We welcome among the 13MP initiatives, plans for a national framework for development in the health sector to address human resource needs. We hope that this will encompass all health care professions in the health care ecosystem.
We note the government’s plans to upgrade over 1,700 dilapidated public health clinics and build more healthcare facilities across the country. These are timely and necessary steps, but there must be clear timelines for the implementation of each initiative to ensure accountability. Planning of human resources must also follow for any new facilities being planned.
MMA strongly supports the move to strengthen digitalisation, including improvements in health record management and the use of AI to enhance healthcare delivery. These efforts are crucial to improving continuity of care and enabling data-driven health planning.
The expansion of pro-health taxes to include tobacco, vaping and alcohol is a step in the right direction in curbing the rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs). However, MMA maintains its firm position that a total ban on vaping and vaping products is necessary to protect public health, especially the health of our youth.
The MMA looks forward to more details on these initiatives for health under the 13MP.
This statement was issued by MMA president Dr Kalwinder Singh Khaira.
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