The National Cancer Society of Malaysia (NCSM) said that currently only Malaysian children aged seven and above who go to public schools are entitled to receive treatment at government hospitals for a nominal fee of RM1.
“Children aged below seven have to bear the full cost of the treatment, which could reach thousands of ringgit,” the group’s managing director Dr Murallitharan Munisamy told FMT.
Murallitharan said NCSM has been pushing the health ministry on the matter since 2016, but has been told that it falls within the purview of the finance ministry.
“Therefore, we humbly request that the (finance ministry) get these charges removed,” he said, adding that the financial impact on the government would likely be minimal.
Murallitharan said the high medical costs were burdensome to young parents, especially those from low and lower middle-income backgrounds.
“These high costs are a factor in dissuading some parents from seeking or continuing treatment for their children — with significantly poor clinical outcomes including mortality.”
Separately, the Malaysian Paediatric Association (MPA) is calling for increased funding for paediatric care under the federal budget, covering both primary care and preventive services.
While mortality rates for children under five and infants have plateaued, the association said a targeted investment in primary care could reduce costly downstream hospital care and improve equity.
The MPA also called for increased funding to expand neonatal and paediatric critical care capacities, focusing on newborn screening and establishing additional critical care centres.
“Timely critical care saves lives and reduces long-term disability. The current capacity mismatches both rural and urban needs. Investing now reduces future chronic care costs,” it said.
The association also called for more incentives and increased on-call allowances in the budget to curb specialist shortages and high attrition rates, which would undermine service quality and access.
It added that retention incentives would cost the government less than spending on repeated locum hires and private referrals.
The MPA also urged Putrajaya to expand subsidised medical treatment to all non-citizen children on par with Malaysian kids in its upcoming budget.
Reform referral system, increase development funds
Murallitharan also called for reforms to the referral process for Malaysian patients transferred from private or NGO-run health facilities to public hospitals, noting that they are often classified as “private” patients and subjected to higher treatment charges.
“This is a very unfair (practice) which harms Malaysians and makes a real joke of this public-private partnership (system),” he said.
He also called for health expenditure under the budget to be raised to 5% of the national GDP, in line with recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Acknowledging the struggle to obtain more funding, Murallitharan suggested that Putrajaya explore alternative sources of revenue, including a national health insurance scheme, which was proposed by the health ministry as part of its study into various forms of health financing.
The MPA meanwhile suggested that the government seek international grants from WHO and United Nations Children’s Fund to fund its proposed initiatives.