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In Budget 2026, Malaysia is set to prioritize significant reforms in both healthcare and education sectors.
Healthcare Reforms
The government is focusing on managing rising private healthcare costs while ensuring affordable, equitable, high-quality care and strengthening health security. Key areas of focus include protecting vulnerable groups, expanding access to affordable medicines, enhancing primary healthcare in rural areas, digitalizing services such as telemedicine and electronic records, and preparing for future health crises and ageing population challenges.
Education Reforms
For education, the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) serves as the guiding principle. The reforms aim to develop a talent pool aligned with Malaysia's high-growth, high-value (HGHV) sectors, such as digital technology, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors, renewable energy, and AI-driven services. The government is committed to improving educational outcomes across all socio-economic groups, strengthening foundational learning, and closing achievement gaps, particularly for underserved communities.
Initiatives emphasize STEM, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), lifelong learning pathways, and bridging the urban-rural divide through infrastructure development in remote areas, including Sabah and Sarawak. The education reform will be coordinated by the soon-to-be-established Majlis Pendidikan Negara (National Education Council), ensuring implementation across government levels and education providers.
The government is committed to inclusive education to promote upward mobility and reduce generational poverty. The focus of Budget 2026, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF), is to strengthen health security and education, with a particular emphasis on talent development for HGHV sectors.
In addition, the government is continuing efforts to strengthen foundational education support for vulnerable and underserved communities. However, further details about job structure reforms, career development, and skills upgrading initiatives in fostering balanced economic growth remain unclear.
[1] Source: Pre-Budget 2026 statement [2] Source: Ministry of Education [3] Source: Ministry of Rural Development [4] Source: Ministry of Health [5] Source: Joint Ministerial Committee on Private Healthcare Costs (JMCPHC) (Unclear context provided)
- In the upcoming Budget 2026, the Malaysian government is prioritizing significant reforms in the healthcare sector, with a focus on managing rising private healthcare costs while ensuring affordable, equitable, high-quality care.
- To strengthen health security, the government is planning to protect vulnerable groups, expand access to affordable medicines, enhance primary healthcare in rural areas, digitalize services like telemedicine and electronic records, and prepare for future health crises and ageing population challenges.
- In the educational sector, the government is following the guiding principle of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP) and focusing on developing a talent pool aligned with Malaysia’s high-growth, high-value sectors such as digital technology, advanced manufacturing, and AI-driven services.
- Efforts are being made to improve educational outcomes across all socio-economic groups, strengthen foundational learning, and close achievement gaps, particularly for underserved communities.
- The government is also emphasizing STEM, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), lifelong learning pathways, and infrastructure development in remote areas, including Sabah and Sarawak.
- Budget 2026's focus is also on promoting inclusive education to promote upward mobility and reduce generational poverty, in line with the government's commitment to strengthening health security and education, particularly for talent development in high-growth, high-value sectors.
