Contracts of MOs to be extended


SIBU: There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel for the 11 medical officers (MOs) and dental officers (DOs) whose contracts were terminated without explanation, as their stints will be “extended by two years”.

Dr Wong Woan Hui, who is among those affected, claimed she was told by the Health Ministry that documentation to extend her contract for two years had been handed over to the Public Service Department (JPA).

“I called up the Health Ministry’s office on Monday.

“They said my contract will be extended by two years and that JPA is the one handling the documentation to issue the letter to me,” she said yesterday.

Dr Wong, 30, however, said she was in the dark as to when the official letter would be sent to her.

“All they told me was that it is in the process,” she said.

Dr Wong’s case was among those raised by the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) education bureau last month.

Bureau chairman Ding Kuong Hiing claimed then that the termination of their services was the first case in the country of medical officers’ contracts not being renewed.

Dr Bong Ing Hui, one of Dr Wong’s counterparts from Sibu General Hospital, who is also in the same boat, said she was also keeping her fingers crossed.

“I was told by Dr Wong that the ministry will renew everyone’s contract but we’re not sure who they are,” said Dr Bong, 29.

“I am currently working part-time in a private hospital while waiting for the documentation from JPA,” she said.

On Jan 23, Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen said all contracts of MOs in Sarawak would be renewed.

In his statement, Chong said the Finance Minister had talked to the Health Minister and that they had agreed to renew the contracts of MOs in Sarawak.

Both Dr Wong and Dr Bong had received a letter from the Health Ministry on Nov 13, 2019 that their contract would not be renewed.

Subsequently, the contracts of another six doctors were terminated.

The six doctors wrote to SUPP education bureau to highlight their predicament, as the bureau had on Jan 18 spoken out for four MOs whose contracts were terminated after two years.

The six were serving in hospitals and clinics in Selangor, Sibujaya, Sabak Bernam, Sandakan, Sungai Buloh and Labuan.

And on Feb 9, SUPP said a new case was reported to the bureau by an MO from Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kota Kinabalu.

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