KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad has suggested doubling the Air Health Service Incentive Payment allowance from RM30 to at least RM60, his aide revealed today.
Fadhli Umar Aminolhuda, who is an Amanah Youth exco member and the minister’s special functions officer, said Dzulkefly’s proposal was made back in November 2025, before a fatal Flying Doctor Service (FDS) helicopter crash in Long Lellang, Ulu Baram, Sarawak last Tuesday.
“This matter is being reviewed by the relevant agencies because we must remember that it involves financial processes and various agencies like MOF (Ministry of Finance) and JPA (Public Service Department),” Fadhli Umar wrote on Facebook today.
“Just like how the on-call allowance was successfully increased and the contract doctor system will end by 2028, YBMK Dr Dzul will surely fight for the FDS allowance and we pray that it will be announced in the upcoming Budget 2027 speech.”
At a press conference yesterday, Dzulkefly did not confirm the RM30 quantum of the Air Health Service Incentive. Neither did he specify his proposed increment, beyond simply saying that the Ministry of Health (MOH) had requested last November for a raise.
That allowance, unchanged since 1978, pays medical officers, assistant medical officers, nurses, and community nurses RM30 for a return flight.
Ordinary Malaysians and various health care groups – including Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK), the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), and the Malayan Nurses Union (MNU) – yesterday demanded appropriate remuneration for hazardous work like FDS missions.
Writing on Facebook yesterday, HDK said the allowance for health workers serving on the FDS should be at least RM400, equivalent to the daily allowance received by MPs for attending Parliament.
Many people made critical remarks in response to HDK’s post of Fadhli Umar’s comments today about the new proposed RM60 rate, with one saying: “They can’t say RM30 [increment]. Their posters must state ‘100 per cent allowance increment’ or ‘two times higher’. Then only they’ll look like they’re working.”
Another pointed out that ambulance drivers receive an RM150 allowance.
Fadhli Umar also defended Dzulkefly’s announcement yesterday about continuing the FDS service, despite the Long Lellang tragedy that killed a pilot and four health care workers from the MOH.
“We must remember that FDS components include emergency medical services or Medevac. It is this service that will be continued to save those in critical conditions. However, YBMK also guaranteed that each flight would remain subject to tight regulations by the authorities like CAAM (Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia),” he wrote in his Facebook post at 2.48pm.
A little over an hour later, the MOH’s Facebook page posted a statement by Dzulkefly at 4pm that the FDS service in Sarawak would be suspended, pending safety and operational reviews.
He announced that the Medevac service for emergency cases would be operationalised through cooperation with the Fire and Rescue Department. The MOH will also conduct discussions with the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) to explore using ATM assets to transfer emergency cases to appropriate health care facilities.
