PETALING JAYA: Stricter measures are needed to curb cases of doctors defaulting contractual obligations after being awarded government scholarships, say stakeholders.
Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Datuk Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo said doctors who received government sponsorship for specialist training have a clear obligation to serve their bond.
“Walking away before completing it is a serious breach of trust and misuse of public funds. These scholarships are taxpayer-funded investments to strengthen our healthcare system – not personal grants for career advancement abroad.
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“We call on the government to enforce stricter measures to ensure accountability, including recovery of costs and tighter monitoring mechanisms.
“Every ringgit spent must serve its purpose – to build and retain Malaysia’s medical expertise,” he added.
On whether a travel ban should be placed on those who defaulted their bonds, independent health advocate Dr Sean Thum said this could be considered in principle, similar to how PTPTN handled loan defaulters in the past.
“However, it should be implemented carefully. Our goal is not to punish, but to uphold professional integrity and public trust.
“Those who breach their service bonds should face the appropriate consequences whether through financial penalties, restricted registration or other mechanisms,” he said.
Dr Thum said public training opportunities especially in highly specialised fields like cardiothoracic surgery were a national investment.
“These doctors were trained at significant public expense with the understanding that they will serve the rakyat upon completion.
“When individuals choose to leave before fulfilling that obligation, it creates real consequences not just for the system but for patients waiting for life-saving procedures,” he pointed out.
Dr Thum said while there must be accountability, there was also a need to ensure fairness.
“Medicine is a global profession and Malaysian doctors are among the most sought after internationally.
“We should not begrudge anyone the right to pursue their career aspirations but they must do so responsibly, within the terms they agreed to,” he added.
Dr Thum said such resignations would have a serious immediate impact on manpower, as cardiothoracic surgery was an area with a critical shortage.
“The government worked hard to amend the Medical Act to recognise the parallel pathway so that we could expand training and accreditation more efficiently.
“It is therefore disappointing that after these efforts, some are choosing to leave prematurely,” he said.
Moving forward, he said the government should review how bond management and service obligations were monitored, and if enforcement mechanisms needed to be strengthened.
Retired Health Ministry director Datuk Dr Zainal Ariffin Omar said it was unfortunate that there were doctors who defaulted but said a travel ban should not be implemented if one funded his or her own specialist training.
“The government should think and offer better incentives for doctors and specialists to stay. Better pay, working environment and other perks. Maybe similar to MPs,” he suggested.
