KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry’s increased 2026 allocation of RM46.5bil from RM45.3bil, would not be enough to match the government's plan to increase public healthcare doctor salaries while hiring thousands more new ones, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (BN-Ayer Hitam).
“Doctors' salaries are to be raised by 8%, with 4,500 new doctors and nearly 1,000 nurses to be hired, so it is clear that the RM1.2bil increase in funding will be inadequate,” Dr Wee said when debating the motion of thanks on Budget 2026 in Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Oct 15).
The MCA president also questioned the government’s decision to cut funding to the Madani medical scheme, which allows lower-income Malaysians to seek treatment at private general practitioner (GP) clinics for free, from RM100mil to RM50mil in Budget 2026.
“We already saw how the scheme quickly ran out of funds and was limited to only 10 districts last year when it had RM100mil.
“But next year it only has half that amount, so I am worried the funds may run out during the festive season.
“Amid rising healthcare costs, this reduction affects the access of low-income groups to basic treatment, which should be our national responsibility,” he said
He added that the government’s plan to increase the GP consultation fees ceiling from RM35 to RM80, which was announced alongside Budget 2026, would burden the public.
“The Health Ministry said the minimum fee remains at RM10, but where can one find a private clinic charging RM10 today?
“Instead, this change will allow insurance companies to potentially exploit GPs, paying only RM10 per consultation for lower-premium patients, which is no wonder why doctors are upset,” he said.
Dr Wee added that the raised fee ceiling will result in pricier GP fees, pushing more patients to turn towards public clinics for treatment instead, potentially overwhelming our public healthcare system.
Instead, he recommended that the Health Ministry develop revenue-generation mechanisms to sustain itself rather than always depending on government allocations.
