In a statement, health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad stressed that core services – including patient treatment, emergency care, medicine supply and medical devices – are “non-negotiable” and will proceed as planned under the 2026 budget.

Dzulkefly also said recruitment for critical frontline positions such as doctors, nurses and other essential staff will be exempted from any hiring freeze to ensure hospitals and clinics continue to operate smoothly.

“The health ministry will continue to negotiate with the finance ministry to reduce the amount involved in the realignment so that the delivery of healthcare services to the people continues smoothly.

“The realignment will be focused on matters unrelated to service delivery, such as office utilities and the optimisation of non-clinical assets,” he said.

He added that the ministry is committed to ensuring that any realignment is carefully balanced, particularly amid global energy and supply chain pressures.

A Treasury directive yesterday said a total of RM10 billion could be saved across the board, including RM3.06 billion from the health ministry, through proposed operational spending cuts amid the Iran conflict.

In a statement today, the finance ministry said its proposed adjustments to operational spending for the health and higher education ministries involved only non-critical items, with all core spending to continue as planned under the 2026 budget.

Bernama later reported finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan as saying the adjustments would not affect frontline personnel or the delivery of basic services to the public.

He stressed that critical sectors, including healthcare, education and security, will remain the government’s priority, in line with its commitment to ensure the people’s well-being.