PETALING JAYA: The Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) has urged the government against allowing the use of retirement savings to pay for medical insurance, adding
that the move could have negative long-term effects.
Its CEO Dr Saravanan Thambirajah said while expanding healthcare coverage is vital, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) must remain untouched.
“Many Malaysians have insufficient EPF balances, and diverting funds to insurance would only worsen financial insecurity in old age,” he said, urging the government to reconsider the proposal and instead strengthen pooled health protection schemes or provide targeted subsidies.
Saravanan, however, welcomed several consumer-friendly measures under
Budget 2026, including the upcoming Consumer Credit Act, the Cybercrime Bill and the expansion of the National Scam Response Centre.
He said the Budget reflected a “people-first” approach, with initiatives such as the Lemon Law, cost-of-living relief, affordable housing, improved public transport, stronger food security and faster progress towards sustainable energy.
“Overall, this budget takes concrete steps to ease cost-of-living pressures, strengthen consumer protection and promote long-term sustainability.”
The Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) also hailed the Lemon Law, to be introduced through amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, as a major win for consumers.
“We hope the Lemon Law would also cover new cars,” said its president Mohideen Abdul Kader.
He welcomed the government’s plan to table the Anti-Bullying Bill 2025, calling for awareness campaigns and skills-building programmes to foster a long-term cultural shift against bullying.
However, he expressed disappointment that excise duties on cigarettes were raised by only two sen per stick, while other tobacco products saw increases of RM20 to RM40 per kg
“These are too low to reduce smoking rates.”
He also said the RM46.5 billion allocation for the Health Ministry was up by only RM1.2 billion from last year, calling for greater investment in preventive healthcare and health-promotion programmes to lower long-term treatment costs.
He added that CAP had hoped for stronger measures and higher allocations to combat pollution, prevent environmental crimes and support zero-waste community efforts, “but this is not reflected in this year’s Budget”.
He also urged the government to ensure that targeted subsidies reach low-income groups directly, without leakages.
Meanwhile, CAP education officer N.V. Subbarow described the tobacco tax hike as “good news, better than nothing”.
“Smokers must realise they are consuming a deadly product. Please stop.”
He also praised the alcohol tax increase as “very welcoming, healthy news”.
“The revenue collected will support the Agenda Nasional Malaysia Sihat (campaign). This is what we want,” he said, adding that authorities must now act against cigarette and alcohol smuggling following the new tax measures.
