The Healthcare System in Malaysia: Public and Private Hospitals, Emergencies and Health Risks

The Ministry of Health (MOH) runs the public hospitals and the primary care network: health clinics, Klinik 1Malaysia and Klinik Desa (village clinics), all cited in the Ministry’s rates for non-citizens. The Ministry’s 2024 reference data give the scale of each sector.

• Ministry of Health hospitals: 2,579,373 admissions and 18,912,285 outpatient consultations in 2024.
• Public health facilities: 46,277,333 consultations in 2024, the largest volume of use.
• Private sector: 1,359,910 admissions and 3,629,124 outpatient consultations in the private hospitals, maternity homes, nursing homes and hospices surveyed (response rate of 82.33%).

The private sector falls under the Private Healthcare Facilities and Services Act 1998 (Act 586), which covers hospitals, hospices, ambulatory care centres, maternity homes, haemodialysis centres, and medical and dental clinics (Royal Malaysian Customs). It is in high demand among expats and foreign patients: the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) supports international patients, from the first enquiry to their return home.

The official pages consulted describe paid access to public care for non-citizens: the foreigner pays the Ministry’s non-citizen rate (see the table) and the subsidies provided for citizens do not apply to them. No health insurance scheme open to foreign residents appears in these pages; cover is therefore built with the employer, international insurance or the CFE (the French social security fund for expatriates).

• PERKESO: the social security scheme covers foreign employees for work accidents (1.25% paid by the employer), invalidity (0.5% and 0.5%) and, since 1 June 2026, accidents outside work (0.75% paid by the employee). Care for work accidents is delivered in approved clinics (PERKESO).
• Ordinary illness and hospitalisation: these are covered by a health insurance contract; France Diplomatie considers it essential to hold an assistance contract or insurance covering medical costs, surgery, hospitalisation and medical repatriation, failing which access to care may not be guaranteed, even in a life-threatening emergency.
• No agreement with France: CLEISS (the French liaison centre for international social security) lists no France-Malaysia social security agreement; the carte Vitale (the French health insurance card) therefore cannot be used on site. See the page on healthcare reimbursement in Malaysia.

Primary care is delivered at a public health clinic (MYR 40 for a non-citizen, about €9) or by a private doctor; a specialist consultation in the public sector costs MYR 120 (about €26). Private-sector rates are not published by the Ministry: ask the practice, and insurance covers them according to its contract.

• Public hospitals cited by France Diplomatie: Kuala Lumpur General Hospital (Hospital Kuala Lumpur) and Sungai Buloh Hospital in the capital, Sarawak General Hospital in Kuching. France Diplomatie also lists private facilities in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
• Outside Kuala Lumpur: France Diplomatie specifies that there is no SAMU-type emergency service (the French emergency medical service); the choice of where to live takes into account the distance to a hospital and the evacuation provided in the contract.
• Embassy: it covers no medical costs; its switchboard in Kuala Lumpur is +60 3 20 53 55 00.

The guide to checking the contracted network explains how to check direct access to a facility before a hospital stay.

999 is the single number of the Malaysian Emergency Response Services (MERS). It links the police, the fire service, the Ministry of Health, maritime enforcement and civil defence, and receives calls to locate the caller and coordinate help. Its use is reserved for real emergencies: misuse is an offence, punishable by a fine of up to MYR 500,000 (Malaysian government).

• Public emergency department rate: MYR 100 per visit for a non-citizen (about €22), excluding tests and hospitalisation (Ministry of Health).
• Advance of costs: a contract with direct billing and 24-hour assistance avoids having to advance costs; see the glossary entries on direct billing and medical evacuation.
• Useful contact: note your insurer’s assistance number and the address of the nearest hospital before any emergency.

France Diplomatie recommends putting together a personal medicine kit and taking only the strictly necessary medicines, in their original packaging with the original labels, accompanied by a prescription showing the names of the medicines by international nonproprietary name, or by a medical certificate, translated into English. It is essential to check that these medicines are authorised in Malaysia, and never to take medicines bought on the street because of the risk of counterfeits.

• Chronic treatment: plan a reserve for the journey, a detailed prescription and the local equivalent of the active ingredient, to be confirmed with a doctor on site.
• Dentist: France Diplomatie advises seeing your dentist before departure.

Dengue is endemic, particularly in Selangor state, which surrounds Kuala Lumpur, and in the capital, and is rising sharply according to France Diplomatie. The Ministry of Health counts 359.45 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024. There is no curative treatment: care treats the symptoms, and anti-inflammatory drugs should be avoided. Prevention relies on protection against mosquito bites.

• Other mosquito-borne diseases: chikungunya (cases in rural areas), Japanese encephalitis (rice paddies), malaria, for which prophylaxis is needed only outside urban and coastal areas (France Diplomatie).
• Rabies: a proven risk, notably in Sarawak state; avoid any contact with suspect animals.
• Measles: France Diplomatie published an alert on 13 March 2026 on the rise in cases; the Ministry of Health records 11.13 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024. Bringing the French vaccination schedule up to date, measles included, is the first precaution.
• Additional vaccines to discuss with a doctor: hepatitis A, typhoid fever, hepatitis B for long stays, rabies, Japanese encephalitis, tuberculosis for children under 15 on long stays, chikungunya and dengue depending on outbreaks. Yellow fever is compulsory for travellers coming from endemic areas.
• Pollution haze: from June to October, it can affect the south-west of the peninsula, the capital region included, up to very unhealthy levels and school closures.

The MHTC presents the offer of private hospitals aimed at international patients, with support from the request for care through to the return home. For a resident, the issue is mostly cost: private care delivered to non-citizens bears a 6% service tax since 1 July 2025 (Royal Malaysian Customs), whose coverage by the insurance contract should be checked.

• Employee: compare the cover offered by the employer, its ceilings and exclusions with international insurance; see expat health insurance.
• Retiree or self-employed: the CFE or international insurance organises access to private facilities; see CFE or private insurance.
• Prior medical history: it determines acceptance and the price of a private contract; see the guide to the medical questionnaire and prior medical history.

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