KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 — Several programmes and divisions under the Ministry of Health (MOH) are facing budget cuts in 2026, even as the ministry’s overall allocation rises slightly to RM46.52 billion.
Detailed estimates of MOH’s 2026 budget – pending parliamentary approval of the federal budget tabled in Parliament today – show reductions across multiple areas, including community-based health programmes, administrative divisions, and agency-level funding.
Among the most significant cuts is to the Madani Medical Scheme (SPM), whose allocation has been halved from RM100 million in 2025 to RM50 million in 2026.
The reduction comes despite Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad’s statement last year that the programme was “very popular”, prompting the government to downscale it because its funds were nearly depleted.
The Madani Medical Scheme allows lower-income Malaysians to seek treatment at private general practitioner (GP) clinics at government expense. It was initially seen as a key measure to ease congestion at public health facilities, but the 50 per cent cut raises questions about its sustainability and future scope.
Other cuts in Budget 2026 include the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC), whose allocation was slashed by 33 per cent from RM30 million to RM20 million, as well as a 12 per cent funding cut for the National Centre for Excellence in Mental Health (NCEMH) from RM24.6 million to RM21.6 million.
The allocation for health education under MOH was cut by 23 per cent from RM88.4 million to RM68 million, despite the minister’s emphasis on strengthening primary care, disease prevention, and wellness as key health priorities.
Several administrative divisions within MOH recorded lower allocations for 2026, including the Finance Division, which fell from RM3.6 billion to RM2.9 billion, and the Competency Development Division, from RM6.51 million to RM6.47 million.
Under MOH’s special programmes, allocations for contract staff emoluments declined from RM2.6 billion to RM2.4 billion, while contributions to external bodies dropped from RM88.1 million to RM83.1 million. Funding for the operation of new facilities will also decrease sharply from RM138.7 million to RM50 million.
These reductions come amid broader fiscal tightening within MOH’s modestly increased overall budget.
Allocations across medical specialties, public health, dental health, pharmaceutical services, and food safety and quality all saw modest increases.
However, the Research and Technical Support Division recorded a decline from RM443.7 million to RM419.4 million, alongside cuts to medical engineering and radiation regulatory services (from RM214.8 million to RM189.6 million) and the Medical Device Authority (from RM5.36 million to RM4.5 million).
Budget 2026 maintains higher spending for operating and infrastructure needs such as hospital repairs, equipment replacement, and ICT upgrades, but the programme-level and administrative reductions suggest an effort to contain costs in potential non-core or overlapping areas.
Overall, Budget 2026 continues the trend of slower growth in health spending — just 2.8 per cent, the smallest increase for MOH since 2022 — reflecting tighter fiscal space even as demand on Malaysia’s public health care system continues to rise.
