KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 5,077 nursing diploma trainees are undergoing training at Malaysian Health Ministry Training Institutes (ILKKM) as of March 2025 to address the shortage of nurses, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The Health Minister said his ministry remains committed to continuously implementing various initiatives to increase the number of nurses to ensure the continuity of healthcare service delivery at health facilities.
"We are increasing the intake of nursing diploma ILKMM from 1,500 to 3,000," he said in a written reply in response to a question from Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias (BN-Jelebu) who asked the ministry to explain the measures taken to address the increasingly critical shortage of nurses in public hospitals.
Dzulkefly said in addition to intake via ILKKM, the Health Ministry targets the recruitment of 1,000 nurses from nursing diploma graduates from public and private institutions of higher learning (IPTA and IPTS) in 2025.
“The Higher Education Ministry lifted the moratorium on nursing diploma programmes at IPTA and IPTS effective Aug 1, 2024.
"To date, a total of 13 colleges have applied to open new nursing diploma programmes," he added.
The Health Ministry, he said, had successfully obtained an exemption from interim contract appointments for nurses.
"All new appointments for Grade U5 nurses will be made on a permanent basis," he added.
Through the Malaysian Nursing Board, the Health Ministry has also relaxed the entry requirements for the nursing diploma programme for SPM leavers to encourage more SPM graduates to enter the nursing field via ILKKM, IPTA, and IPTS.
Aside from that, the Health Ministry was currently reviewing several additional proposals such as the reappointment of retired nurses on a contract or sessional service basis, he said.
