Budget cut will hurt the most vulnerable

REPRODUCTIVE Rights Advocacy Alliance Malaysia (RRAAM) strongly objects to the proposed RM3.06bil reduction to the Health Ministry’s budget, as it threatens to reverse significant gains and deepen existing inequalities in access to healthcare in Malaysia.

We believe such a reduction will have tangible and immediate consequences. Essential services ranging from primary care and maternal health to chronic disease management and preventative programmes will face major disruptions, delays or scaling back.

Medications may become less accessible or inconsistently available, referrals to multidisciplinary care (including pain specialists or mental health support) may be limited, and overstretched healthcare professionals may have less time for patient-centred consultations.

Taking endometriosis as an example, a RM3.06bil cut to the budget will likely cause huge barriers for women and girls with endometriosis who seek treatment in public hospitals. For diagnosis of endometriosis, access to gynaecologists, ultrasound or MRI imaging, and in some cases laparoscopic surgery are all resource intensive.

This decision to cut the budget could mean fewer specialist clinics available, longer referral pathways from primary care, and delays in elective surgeries such as diagnostic laparoscopy. For a condition that already takes an average of six to eight years to diagnose, this could extend suffering further. The impact does not stop at diagnosis. Endometriosis care requires ongoing follow-up, access to hormonal treatments, pain management, and sometimes fertility services.

A sweeping budget cut also risks deepening gendered inequalities, as sexual and reproductive health services, already chronically underfunded and overlooked, are often the first to be sidelined.

We call on policymakers to immediately withdraw this proposed budget cut. Healthcare funding is not optional, it is a core responsibility and a fundamental obligation. A reduction of this scale is not just a policy decision, it is a direct risk to lives and economic stability.

Communities with the least resources, including vulnerable and low-income groups, rural populations, women and girls requiring reproductive health services, older people, individuals living with chronic diseases and persons living with disabilities will all bear the brunt of this cut.

Reduced access to quality and affordable healthcare services will exacerbate already large healthcare disparities which will lead to higher long-term costs for both individuals and the healthcare system.

This risks reinforcing a cycle where patients disengage from the public system or turn to private care they cannot afford. Ultimately, a budget reduction undermines Malaysia’s efforts to build structured, equitable care, and widens the gap between those who can access timely, quality care and those who continue to suffer in silence.

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS ADVOCACY ALLIANCE MALAYSIA (RRAAM)

ENDOMETRIOSIS ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA (MyEndosis)

ALL WOMEN’S ACTION SOCIETY (Awam)

WOMEN’S AID ORGANISATION (WAO)

SIS FORUM (MALAYSIA)

ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN LAWYERS (AWL)