30/09/2026

WEDNESDAY | SEPT 30, 2026

4 ‘Budget must prioritise prevention, primary care’

Child Act amendments may address peer grooming PETALING JAYA: The government is considering whether proposed changes to the Child Act 2001 could deal with children whose behaviour has moved beyond acceptable limits, including what has been called peer grooming. Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri said her ministry is studying the matter with other ministries, including the Home Ministry. It must first look at the latest developments before adding any new provisions to the amendments, she said. She explained that the amendment process is ongoing and the ministry will decide whether peer grooming should be included or how else it should be handled. Under the law, a child is anyone aged below 18, she noted. However, Nancy said some acts committed by children go well beyond what is normally seen as childhood behaviour. She added that the matter needs closer study because the ministry does not want children to face double jeopardy. Discussions will be held with the relevant ministries to decide what can go into the amendments. Nancy was speaking to reporters after launching the National Reproductive Health Symposium at The Everly Hotel in Putrajaya yesterday. Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk M. Kumar had disclosed that police arrested 53 people, aged between 13 and 56, in the nationwide Op Pedo Bersepadu PDRM-MCMC 3.0, which ran from Sept 14 to 16. Eight of those arrested were minors. Kumar said they were found producing animated child sexual abuse material and selling it online. On the timeline, Nancy said the amendments would take time because the ministry has to factor in recent developments and new issues. It wants the changes to be comprehensive enough that nothing more needs to be added later. She also said the ministry is taking into account everything happening in the country, adding that any gaps in existing laws would be addressed by turning the feedback into legislation. Ű BY THESUN TEAM newsdesk@thesundaily.com design, advanced packaging, semiconductor equipment, software and AI, Malaysian companies could participate in more parts of the value chain.” Goh highlighted the growing role of AI in manufacturing, saying its bigger opportunity is not simply automation but “augmentation”. He said an experienced engineer supported by AI could analyse problems faster while a technician equipped with intelligent tools could diagnose equipment more effectively. A manufacturer using real-time data could make better decisions while an SME using AI could access capabilities that previously required much greater resources, he added. Goh said Penang is already developing AI talent through InvestPenang’s GBS Industry Academy 2.0 – GenAI Talent Ready, launched in 2025 to train and upskill talent in areas including IC design, embedded software, global business services and robotic automation.

PETALING JAYA: Health and economics experts are calling on the government to put more money into disease prevention, primary care and healthcare manpower in Budget 2027. They say this is needed to deal with the rising toll of non-communicable diseases (NCD) and to get ready for a greying population. Taylor’s Business School economist Prof Dr Poon Wai Ching said the healthcare system should shift from a treatment-oriented model towards prevention, stronger primary care, chronic disease management and community-based healthy ageing. She said greater investment in early intervention could prevent diseases from progressing, reducing complications and avoidable hospital admissions while easing pressure on the healthcare system. “Healthcare budgets should increasingly be outcome-based,” she said, adding that spending should be assessed based on outcomes such as waiting times, access to care, disease control, avoidable hospitalisation, healthy life expectancy, independent ageing and patients’ out-of-pocket costs. Poon added that the objective should be to ensure Malaysians not only live longer, but also remain healthy and independent for longer without facing financial hardship when healthcare is needed. She also called for more sustainable healthcare financing through stronger risk pooling, targeted subsidies and more efficient public-private purchasing, rather than relying solely on increased government expenditure. Financial protection should also be strengthened for households, particularly for essential medicines, chronic disease treatment and long-term care, while avoiding blanket subsidies that could place an unsustainable burden on public finances. Poon emphasised that Budget 2027 should recognise ageing as more than a healthcare issue by building an “ageing well” economy involving preventive healthcare, o Greater investment could prevent diseases from progressing, reducing complications and hospital admissions: Specialist Ű BY KIRTINEE RAMESH newsdesk@thesundaily.com GEORGE TOWN: Penang is gearing up to train 1,000 integrated circuit (IC) design engineers as it seeks to move beyond manufacturing and capture a bigger share of the semiconductor value chain by designing the chips of the future. State Trade and National Unity exco Goh Choon Aik said the target, set by the Penang Chip Design Academy (PCDA), includes developing capabilities in areas such as AI chips, advanced packaging and high-speed memory. “The semiconductor value chain does not begin at the factory. It begins with ideas, architecture, design and intellectual property,” he said at the Advanced Asia – Innovation and Manufacturing conference at the Iconic Marjorie Hotel in Bayan Baru yesterday. Goh said PCDA brought together industry, academia, electronic design automation Ű BY T.C. KHOR newsdesk@thesundaily.com

Sharifa Ezat said while Malaysia has built many hospitals, infrastructure alone would not ensure an efficient healthcare system without sufficient manpower, assets and expertise. – ADIB RAWI YAHYA/THESUN

design companies, according to InvestPenang. Goh said the state needs to move from simply developing a workforce to developing an “innovation force”, with continuous upskilling and reskilling needed as technology changes. He said universities, technical and vocational education and training institutions, training centres and companies must work together to ensure what is taught remains closely connected to industry needs. Goh said Penang’s approach is not limited to developing IC design talent, but also involves building an ecosystem capable of supporting companies across more parts of the semiconductor value chain. He said the Penang Silicon Design @5km+ initiative brought together the IC Design and Digital Park, PCDA and the Silicon Research and Incubation Space to provide the infrastructure and talent needed to support innovation. “If we could strengthen capabilities in IC patients succumbing earlier to cardiovascular related deaths. “If these basic components are not prepared, then cases would stack up and we are not able to manage them properly.” Sharifa Ezat also said almost all areas of Malaysia’s public healthcare system are under strain, despite efforts by the Health Ministry to maintain services with available resources. She said Malaysia spends less than 5% of its GDP on healthcare and argued that spending could be increased in line with other developing countries. She stressed that the funding gap could affect public health programmes, primary care services, clinic infrastructure and access to essential medicines. She also said while Malaysia has built many hospitals, infrastructure alone would not ensure an efficient healthcare system without sufficient manpower, assets and expertise. She called for more strategic human resource planning, including appropriate doctor and nurse-to-population ratios, better remuneration as well as improved working conditions. Sharifa Ezat said healthcare workers need stronger retention measures as burnout and staff departures could increase the workload and strain on remaining personnel.

providers and the Penang Skills Development Centre to strengthen IC design capabilities. The academy is part of the Penang Silicon Design @5km+ initiative, alongside the Penang IC Design and Digital Park and Silicon Research and Incubation Space, which seek to connect infrastructure, talent, research, startups and industry. A 2025 Kenanga Research analysis estimated that Malaysia had between 10,000 and 15,000 IC designers, with most working for multinational companies, while shortages of engineers and IC designers remained a challenge for the industry. The National Semiconductor Strategy has set a target of developing 60,000 highly skilled engineers by 2030 to support the expansion of Malaysia’s semiconductor industry, including in IC design, advanced packaging, and research and development. Penang is also seeing growth in its IC design ecosystem, having attracted more than 50 IC primary care, rehabilitation, digital monitoring, home care, professional caregivers and community support. She also said integrating healthcare with Malaysia’s emerging care economy could help address rising healthcare costs and family caregiving burdens while allowing older Malaysians to remain healthy, independent and socially engaged for longer. Meanwhile, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia public health specialist Prof Dr Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh said NCDs should be a key focus of Budget 2027, particularly heart disease, diabetes, stroke, hypertension and cancer. She explained that risk factors need to be managed more effectively through primary care and public health programmes before illnesses become severe enough to require hospitalisation. “Better treatment, detection and drugs are the mainstay, but the human resources to manage them must be made available.” She said a lack of treatment capacity and specialists could result in patients facing lengthy waiting times, particularly for procedures and specialised treatment. She cited cardiovascular disease as an example, noting that insufficient treatment centres and specialists such as cardiologists could delay procedures and contribute to

Penang to train 1,000 IC design engineers