PETALING JAYA: Malaysia needs meaningful healthcare reforms alongside increased government spending to address longstanding structural weaknesses and ensure better services for patients, says the Federation of Private Medical Practitioners' Associations Malaysia.
Its president Dr Shanmuganathan T.V. Ganeson said while the RM47.7bil allocation for the Health Ministry under Budget 2027 was welcomed, increased expenditure alone would not resolve existing challenges in the healthcare system.
"A larger budget without meaningful reform risks perpetuating old problems; reform without adequate investment cannot succeed. Malaysia needs both.
"Every ringgit spent on healthcare must translate into better access, shorter waiting times, an appropriately deployed workforce, stronger primary care and improved patient outcomes," he said in a statement in conjunction with Malaysia Doctors' Day on Saturday (Oct 10).
Dr Shanmuganathan said the government's announcement to offer permanent appointments to more than 9,000 contract doctors was an encouraging step towards restoring confidence and career security among younger doctors.
However, he said Malaysia must also focus on making better use of existing healthcare resources rather than merely building more facilities and expanding programmes.
He said the country's extensive network of private general practitioners remained underutilised despite its potential to strengthen primary healthcare services.
"Strengthening primary care should not mean merely expanding public facilities. It should also mean making better use of the private GP clinics already serving communities throughout the country.
"Greater public-private collaboration, supported by appropriate funding, accountability and effective digital integration, could improve access while reducing unnecessary pressure on public hospitals," he said.
Dr Shanmuganathan also called for unnecessary bureaucracy, duplication and outdated regulations to be eliminated while improving working conditions, training and governance within the healthcare sector.
He said rising costs, increasing expectations and administrative burdens had changed the medical profession, raising concerns about its ability to attract the next generation of doctors.
"Perhaps most concerning is that medicine may no longer hold the same attraction for the next generation.
"This should concern not only doctors, but the nation," he said.
He urged policymakers to listen more closely to healthcare professionals when formulating policies and implementing reforms.
"Success must be measured not by the number of programmes announced or regulations introduced, but by whether patients receive better care and healthcare workers can deliver it sustainably.
"Policy must enable good medicine, not make good medicine more difficult," he said.
Dr Shanmuganathan said healthcare reforms should focus on preserving the strengths of the existing system while addressing practices that hinder efficiency and service delivery.
"Reform does not mean dismantling everything we have built. It means having the wisdom to preserve what is valuable and the courage to change what is not," he said.
