PETALING JAYA: The decision to cancel the contentious Waktu Bekerja Berlainan (WBB) pilot project is appropriate, says Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), which also hails the move to set up a task force to improve the healthcare delivery sector.
MMA president Datuk Dr Kalwinder Singh Khaira described the decision as appropriate, given the widespread concerns that have been raised by the association and doctors’ groups about its potential impact on the affected doctors and public healthcare services.
MMA also fully supports the Health Ministry’s decision to set up a dedicated task force aimed at strengthening healthcare delivery and improving the scheduling of working hours.
“The appointment of Tan Sri Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman, a former Health director-general, as the head of this task force is a welcome choice,” Dr Kalwinder said in a statement yesterday.
The association, he added, also looks forward to engaging further with the task force to address issues related to WBB and on-call allowances.
MMA also expressed its gratitude to the Health Minister and his team for engaging with the association on Thursday to discuss the WBB on-call allowances and other challenges faced by public sector doctors.
On Friday, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the proposed WBB shift system, which triggered public backlash recently, has been cancelled pending further studies by the government.
The contract doctors’ movement, Hartal Doktor Kontrak, which has been vocal against the implementation of WBB, also expressed relief with the latest decision.
“Thank you Cabinet and YB Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad for listening to our concerns. A more thorough review must be conducted for policies like this to bring more benefits rather than harm,” the group said on X.
However, Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib said the decision to cancel the proposed WBB shift system is disappointing but not unexpected due to the strong opposition to it from stakeholders.
While he described the formation of the special task force as long-overdue, Azrul said the call for equitable increases in on-call allowances for all relevant healthcare workers remains unanswered.
“This issue is not just about ensuring fair and equitable compensation on on-call services, and better scheduling of working hours. It would be a mistake to reduce the recent controversy to these two issues,” he said in a statement.
Through the task force, he said, it is an opportunity for the authorities to properly recognise, address and respond to the ongoing workforce crisis caused by “vicious cycles of unmanageable workloads and burnout, driving increasing number of staff out of the health service”.
Such issues also affect other healthcare workers such as nurses, who recently spoke out against their 45-hour work week under the Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA) shift system, he added.
“Each day, dozens of specialists, doctors and nurses across the country are submitting their resignation letters.
“How do we ensure that the health services are able to continue to provide quality and safe care to patients in the face of excessive workloads, a diminishing workforce, punishing and unreasonable rotas, as well as rising demand?
“Tired doctors are more likely to make mistakes. It will be unsafe and unsustainable.
“We need long-term solutions and recommendations, and the resources and political will to implement them,” Azrul said.
Under the pilot project planned to take place on Feb 1, doctors and dentists at selected government healthcare facilities will see their on-call shifts capped at 18 hours – down from the current limit of between 24 and 33 hours.With the WBB system, the take-home pay of doctors and dentists at selected government healthcare facilities will be less as they will only be able to claim for active calls on weekends and public holidays, and not for weekday shifts.