BANGI: A total of 3,850 out of 4,352 Grade UD10 medical officers have agreed to accept the offer of permanent appointment, says Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The Health Minister said medical officers who accepted the offer will report to Health Ministry facilities nationwide from Oct 2.
“Compared to previous years, the acceptance rate is about the same now.
“The difference this time is that we are providing three placement options, which include positions in Sabah and Sarawak.
“That’s the main challenge: to overcome the problem of maldistribution.
“I hope they will continue to be with us to develop, strengthen and empower our public health facilities further,” he told reporters after opening the 14th Allied Health Scientific Conference 2025 here yesterday.
Dzulkefly said the results of a survey in Sabah and Sarawak showed that many medical officers from Peninsular Malaysia eventually chose to remain serving there for five to 10 years.
On July 23, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government would expedite the filling of 4,352 healthcare positions, including the appointment of contract doctors this year, due to urgent requirements.
Earlier in his speech, Dzulkefly said the ministry, together with the Finance Ministry, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Employees Provident Fund, had introduced Reset to ensure health financing reform is coordinated across the government and the private sector.
He said that Reset serves as the foundation for the coherent development of initiatives such as Medical and Health Insurance/Takaful, Diagnosis-Related Groups, and the National Health Fund.
“It is designed to ensure financial sustainability, safeguard equity and give us the resilience to respond to future health threats.
“Every ringgit collected will be ring-fenced and channelled back into strengthening our public health system.
“This is not privatisation. These reforms are about strengthening our public system,” he added.
