KUALA LUMPUR — Fifteen government hospitals are expected to be among the first beneficiaries of the government’s RM1 billion allocation to strengthen digital services and improve efficiency in the public healthcare system.
Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil said the allocation, increased from the RM650 million announced earlier, would speed up the rollout of the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system and improve internet connectivity, including public WiFi, at government hospitals and health clinics, Bernama reported.
Fahmi, who is also the MADANI Government spokesperson, said he would discuss the possibility of expanding the number of hospitals covered under the programme.
“I will hold a discussion, initially 15 hospitals are expected to be completed but I will ask that this figure be increased further and from 2,000 health clinics, we will try to increase the number that can be managed for this year.
“This increase in allocation is aimed at accelerating efforts for digital access at health clinics and government hospitals as well as the e-medical record programme that we have implemented through the collaboration of MCMC (Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission) and the Ministry of Health,” he said.
He was speaking to reporters after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s National Day Address at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) today.
Fahmi said the pilot implementation of the EMR system at the Padang Besar Health Clinic had demonstrated the benefits of digitising patient records, allowing doctors to access medical information electronically without relying on physical documents.
He said the system had helped save time for both medical personnel and patients seeking treatment.
Meanwhile, Fahmi said the Communications Ministry would assist in ensuring that information on government assistance programmes and the administration’s achievements was effectively communicated to the public.
He added that further details on the government’s offer of free subscriptions to artificial intelligence applications for 100,000 young Malaysians aged between 18 and 30 would be announced later.
The initiative is available to those participating in the AI for the People programme.
Earlier, in his National Day Address, Anwar announced six major initiatives, including the RM1 billion allocation aimed at accelerating treatment and reducing waiting times through the implementation of the EMR system.
The Prime Minister also announced the restoration of the basic eligibility under the Budi MADANI RON95 (BUDI95) Programme from 200 litres to 300 litres a month, while the BUDI Diesel entitlement would be increased from 300 litres to 400 litres monthly.
Other measures included raising the annual e-Invoice exemption threshold from RM1 million to RM3 million and offering free AI subscriptions to eligible young people.
Anwar also said maintenance funding for all types of schools in 2027 would rise by 50 per cent, from RM1 billion to RM1.5 billion.
The government will also introduce a RM200 million MADANI Sejahtera Grant to support hawkers, night market traders and mothers running businesses from home.
Micro-financing facilities will meanwhile be increased by RM1 billion, bringing the total allocation for 2026 to RM6 billion. – August 30, 2026