PETALING JAYA: Reiterating that it has nothing to do with the three-day contract doctors’ strike, Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) has, however, urged Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa to include it in the committee being formed to look into their plight.
“In light of recent events, we would like to reiterate that we are not involved and have no direct or indirect influence on the strike.
“We have made this clear to Dr Zaliha, the Malaysian Medical Association, the police and the media. While we are not involved, we believe it is their right to protest and we leave the circumstances of the protest to them,” it said, adding that it hoped that patient care will not be jeopardised and healthcare services can resume once the protest is over tomorrow.The strike organised by a group calling itself Mogok Doktor Kontrak was supposed to have begun yesterday.
The group had urged doctors to take emergency or medical leave for the three-day period in a show of protest.
However, several social media users had tagged HDK in their tweets in relation to the strike, when the group had said it had nothing to do with it, nor does it know who is behind it.
“Dr Zaliha recently spoke about a new high-level committee to discuss the contract doctors’ plight. We believe it is one of the correct steps, given that it would involve multiple ministry officials to expedite discussions and analyses,” said HDK.
“However, we urge Dr Zaliha to include HDK in the committee to properly represent contract doctors,” it added.
HDK said that without proper representation, the committee would not be able to solve the issue and will have the same outcome as previous committees formed to look into the matter.
“Our next step is to set up a national healthcare commission that will oversee and improve our nation’s healthcare services. We will work with Dr Zaliha and other ministers to expedite this process,” it added.
Last Saturday, Dr Zaliha said the Cabinet in a meeting on Friday had agreed to set up the committee which would include several ministries and agencies, as well as the Chief Secretary to the Government.
This is to deal with issues related to contract doctors that have been making their rounds in the media, she said, while adding that strikes are not the best way to resolve issues in the medical field.
