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The Star

Healthcare gets RM40bil injection

KUALA LUMPUR: Building new public hospitals and clinics and upgrading present ones are part of the RM40bil allocation for the healthcare sector under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), says Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. The Prime Minister said this includes work on several current hospitals, such as Hospital Tuanku Ja'afar 2 in Negri Sembilan; Hospital Sultanah Aminah 2 in Johor; the Sabah Heart Centre; the Sarawak Cancer Centre and the Northern Region Cancer Centre in Kedah. The aim is to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses by the public for healthcare, Anwar said. He added that 'pro-health' taxes will be expanded to cover tobacco, vape and alcohol to further manage the burden of non-communicable diseases. 'This is not merely for revenue. It is to encourage behavioural changes and curb the worrying rise of non-communicable diseases,' he said when tabling the 13MP in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday. A similar tax was previously only imposed on sugar. The Prime Minister said a national-level professional development framework for human resources in the healthcare sector will also be developed. 'This will comprise pre-service training, licensing and registration, intakes, placements and career development to ensure talent retention in the healthcare sector,' he said. Anwar also said medical record management would be strengthened as part of healthcare digitalisation efforts. 'This will contribute to generating high-impact healthcare analytics that can be further empowered through artificial intelligence as part of efforts to improve the rakyat's healthcare,' he said. Anwar added that domestic drug manufacturing will be encouraged alongside the use of generic medicines by both the public and private sectors. This, he said, is intended to enhance the security of medical supplies. 'Healthcare reforms are an integral part of government efforts to ensure sustainable healthcare financing. 'It will also ensure comprehensive access to healthcare alongside ensuring affordable and high-quality healthcare services,' he said.