Only 34pc of emergency ambulance calls reach scene in under 15 minutes, says health minister

Ambulances are parked at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital designated parking area in Kuala Lumpur on January 22, 2025. — Picture by Raymond Manuel

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid

First Published: Monday, 12 Oct 2026 2:07 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Only 34.1 per cent of emergency ambulance responses in Malaysia met the target time of under 15 minutes for critical cases last year, missing the government's 50 per cent benchmark, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad told Parliament this morning.

Speaking during Question Time, Dzulkefly acknowledged that response times for life-threatening emergencies fell short of target and said the ministry's director-general is leading a comprehensive review.

"Our nationwide achievement for these cases stood at only 34.1 per cent last year, which is still below what we set," he said.

"I, together with the Health director-general, am reviewing this issue as we have yet to meet our key performance indicator targets, which remains a significant challenge."

The minister then pledged urgent steps for response efficiency improvement, including upgrading the country's NG-MERS 999 emergency coordination network.

The ministry is also expanding the national ambulance fleet and optimising dispatch workflows alongside emergency medicine specialists, he added.

Earlier Jelebu MP Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias cited an incident in his constituency where a road crash victim waited nearly an hour for an ambulance despite a healthcare facility being located less than 500 metres away.

Jalaluddin called the incident highly worrying, noting that villagers had also been informed medical officers could not respond to nearby emergencies without an ambulance.