The Social Welfare Department (JKM) submitted a request to the Finance Ministry on August 23 seeking to raise the monthly assistance provided to caregivers of bedridden patients from the current RM500 under Budget 2027 [1, 2]. Alongside this, JKM also proposed additional funding to strengthen programs that assist disadvantaged groups across Malaysia [1, 2].

As of June 2026, JKM spent around RM728.5 million nationwide supporting senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PwD), and chronic patients through multiple programs including the Senior Citizen Assistance (Bantuan Warga Emas, BWE) and bedridden care assistance (Bantuan Pesakit Terbaring, BPT) [3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Specifically, 42,036 recipients received aid for bedridden persons with disabilities and chronic illnesses at a cost exceeding RM119.5 million, while 170,133 senior citizens benefited from BWE programs at over RM609 million [3, 4, 5, 6, 7].

In Sarawak, 23,034 senior citizen recipients accessed BWE assistance costing more than RM94.3 million, and 3,235 bedridden care beneficiaries received upwards of RM10.4 million [3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. JKM also registered 7,294 volunteers as of July 2026, comprised mostly of women aged 40 to 60 who perform unpaid duties to support welfare services [1, 2]. Datuk Che Murad Sayang Ramjan noted, “Most of them carry out these duties without any form of compensation and remain ready to assist whenever challenges arise in the community.” He added, “We will bring this matter to the government and hope it will be considered.”

The Women, Family and Community Development Ministry concurrently proposed an additional RM168 million in Budget 2027 to enhance welfare support, including caregiver assistance [8]. The ministry aims to produce 50,000 trained caregivers for the elderly, persons with disabilities, children, and communities, with a target of 2,000 trained caregivers reached by April 2026 [8].

Launched on August 23 in Sarawak, the SPeKTRUM Caregiver Support Programme offers training, psychosocial support, and motivation to caregivers to improve care quality while safeguarding their health [3, 5, 6, 7]. Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said, “That is why, through SPeKTRUM, caregivers are provided with training, psychosocial support and motivation so that they can provide the best care without neglecting their own health.” She added, “The responsibility of caring for those who were frail or bedridden should not rest solely on families without strong support from various quarters.”

The government is expected to consider these funding requests in upcoming budget deliberations, with the 2027 Budget proposal scheduled to be finalized later this year.