A health think tank has called on the government to rationalise the subsidies for sugar manufacturers in the upcoming budget, and use the funds to raise allowances for medical officers.
In a statement, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy CEO Azrul Khalib said the federal government had allocated some RM500 million to sugar manufacturers as subsidies or incentives, which translated to RM1 per kg for raw and refined sugar.
Removing or rationalising these subsidies would free up at least RM500 million without burdening the overall budget, he said.
“There is more than enough to provide the RM80 million needed to raise allowances,” he said, referring to the amount the government would have to bear if it increased on-call allowances.
“Every ringgit redirected from subsidising sugar to supporting frontline medical staff directly strengthens public health delivery and retention of skilled personnel,” he added.
The health ministry was previously reported as saying that raising on-call allowances for medical officers across the board to RM65 from the current rate of RM55 would cost some RM75 million to RM80 million.
Health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said on Friday that revised on-call allowances for doctors were expected to be implemented in 2026.
Azrul said Galen Centre supported Dzulkefly’s renewed pledge for a full increase in on-call allowances.
He said the current rate, deemed to be unfair, was contributing to the exodus of skilled healthcare workers from public healthcare.
With Malaysia facing “exploding rates” of diabetes, heart disease and childhood obesity, it made no sense to subsidise sugar while underpaying doctors, he added.
He said redirecting subsidies to fund on-call allowances was a win-win solution.
“We get healthier Malaysians and a stronger, more motivated healthcare workforce,” he said, adding that sugar subsidies undermined the health ministry’s war on sugar.
