Tanjong Karang MP Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (Bersatu) says MOH’s 2024 budget of RM41.2 billion is “not enough” and calls for health care services to be exempted from the proposed SST hike from 6% to 8%.
The Galen Centre says MOH's RM41.2 billion 2024 budget is a "major shot in the arm", but questions the absence of government plans to address brain drain of health care professionals like doctors, nurses, and specialists from the public sector and country.
The government is allocating RM150 million to improve MOH’s IT systems and a minimum of RM130 million for preventive health initiatives, including women’s cervical cancer screening, Form 4 teens’ thalassemia screening, and free pertussis vaccination for pregnant women.
The Ministry of Health received an impressive 13.5% raise, or an increase of RM4.9 billion from 2023, to an RM41.2 billion allocation under Budget 2024. This comprises RM35.2 billion for operating expenditure and RM6.1 billion for development expenses.
Bangi MP Syahredzan Johan allocated RM343,000 from his MP allocations to cut government red tape in upgrading Klinik Kesihatan Kajang’s busy ED. "If we were to wait for MOH to put it into their plans to upgrade it, we don’t know how long that will take."
Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii urges Malaysia to establish a unified mental health surveillance system, tracking disorders like suicide, depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia through a comprehensive database.
Tanjong Karang MP Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi (Bersatu) says MOH’s 2022 budget of RM32.4 billion was “completely inadequate”, as he calls for health care spending of at least 5%-10% of the GDP or the "immediate" introduction of a social health insurance scheme.
The Galen Centre says revenue from windfall taxes is unpredictable, while dipping into national reserves is unsustainable and money taken out from reserves must be replaced.
The Galen Centre moots health budgeting as a multi-year project with costing instead of annual allocations, besides including health spending in the higher education and defence ministries.