PETALING JAYA: Contract medical officers' reluctance to accept permanent appointments in public healthcare facilities due to unwillingness to serve in East Malaysia and concerns over career progression in specialist fields was highlighted in the Dewan Rakyat.
Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad disclosed that 414 contract medical officers rejected permanent appointments and resigned between 2023 and June, representing 3.5% of the 11,901 officers offered permanent posts during this period.
Dzulkefly noted that the key reasons given by these individuals included reluctance to relocate to Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan.
"The officers prefer urban healthcare facilities and believe that serving rural and remote areas offers limited career progression in specialist fields," he explained.
Personal reasons such as caring for family members, wanting proximity to partners, health issues, logistics, and financial concerns were also cited.
Dzulkefly provided this information in a parliamentary written reply dated July 31, responding to a question from Mohammed Taufiq Johari (PH-Sungai Petani) about the number of health officers leaving the Health Ministry due to lack of permanent placement.
The government is committed to retaining medical officers through various initiatives, including an 8% salary increase from Dec 1 last year and another 7% increase starting Jan 1 next year.
The Health Minister stated the ministry aims to hire 4,352 medical officers this year, aligning with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's announcement on July 23.
Dzulkefly also mentioned the ministry's commitment to lateral appointments for Grade UD10, offering better pay than Grade UD9, full salary working holidays for permanent officers, and specialist training programs under the health ministry scholarship for contract officers.
Pre-Publication Incentive Payments were introduced on July 1 for officers undergoing supervised work experience.
The ministry is also exploring cooperation with state governments to offer incentives to retain healthcare workers in the public sector.
"The Health Ministry is committed to improving incentives and benefits for medical officers to ensure they remain with us and provide the best healthcare service to the people," he added.
