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Khairy hopes govt will increase allocation for public health

KUALA LUMPUR: Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin hopes the government will consider increasing the allocation for public health to five per cent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in years to come.

He said the benchmark for public health expenditure is four to five per cent of the GDP, and Malaysia, as an upper-middle income nation, was currently at 2.59 per cent.

"That is why we hear the grouses of the people… the waiting time to see the doctor is too long.

"It takes a cancer patient three to four months to get an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) or CT (computed tomography) scan.

"The waitlist for an MRI in Kuala Lumpur Hospital is three months. And this is at hospitals, what more at klinik desa (rural clinics) or klinik kesihatan (health clinics)," he said in his speech at the Health Policy Summit 2022.

Khairy said it was time to look at long-term changes to the healthcare system, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic had revealed its weaknesses, including how it did not receive an investment that commensurated with the burden borne.

"I know all ministries want more money, and all are important, but there are ministries that are more important. The Health Ministry is created to be more equal than others," he said.

"Our core business is life and death," he added.

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