The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) and health think tank Galen Centre welcome the significant allocation increase to the Health Ministry.
However, they expressed concerns about human resources within the public healthcare sector, which they said were not satisfactorily addressed in the newly-tabled Budget 2024.
“We are delighted to hear that the salary and allowance schemes for permanent staff - which should include public healthcare workers - will be finally reviewed after more than 10 years.
“Overall, there are a number of good initiatives included in the budget for health.
“However, our main concern is the issue of human resource planning and development, which wasn’t satisfactorily addressed in Budget 2024,” MMA president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz said in a statement today.
He hoped more information would be provided on the government's plans to support the setting up of a Cancer Institute in Sarawak, as that would involve long-term human resource planning and specialists’ training.
Similarly, Galen Centre chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib lauded the highest increase in allocation for the Health Ministry in the budget.
However, Azrul said it was not clear how the government intends to address the problem of recruiting, retaining and preventing the haemorrhage of skilled healthcare workers from the public to private sector.
On the excise duty on sugar-sweetened beverages, both were optimistic that it would discourage high sugar consumption.
“However, this is not enough to address the increasing number of Malaysians who suffer from non-communicable diseases (NCDs).”
As such, they suggested the government promote preventive health interventions and healthy lifestyle behaviours.
Both groups were also pleased about the Madani Medical Scheme expansion but called for it to be expanded even further.
“This scheme is potentially a game changer, which could reduce the congestion in government clinics and hospitals,” said Azrul. - Mkini
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