University hospitals lag on higher doctor allowances
PETALING JAYA: More than three months after the new on-call allowance rates officially took effect, doctors at several university hospitals are still waiting for the revised payments to be implemented.
The Star learnt that Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz UKM and Hospital Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah UPM have yet to implement the new rates.
Doctors who spoke on condition of anonymity said they are still receiving their old rates despite a government circular issued in October last year.
“We have escalated the matter to the management. But we are afraid that action will be taken just for asking,” said a doctor serving in one of the hospitals in Kuala Lumpur.
Another doctor at another hospital said the management had told him the matter needed to be raised at their meetings.
“We just want answers as to why it has yet to be implemented,” he said.
When contacted, a spokesperson for Hartal Doktor Kontrak called on university hospitals to implement the new rate, as the Health Ministry (MOH) has done at hospitals under its service scheme.
“The backdated salary from October 2025 should be paid too,” said the spokesperson.
“We agree that the budget for this is different from the MOH’s. As for MOH, the extra budget had been allocated in Budget 2026.
“Therefore, the Higher Education Ministry should request an additional budget as well from the government to implement this new rate immediately,” added the spokesperson.
It is learnt that Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia has implemented the new rate, and the backdated arrears have been paid.
Universiti Malaya Medical Centre announced in December that it would implement the new rates in the same month.
According to a Health Ministry circular dated Oct 30, the new rates, which came into effect on Oct 1, will be extended to medical officers, including specialists and dentists serving in university hospitals and armed forces hospitals.
Medical officers and dentists will receive RM300 per shift for weekend active calls, which is an increase of RM80 from RM220 per shift.
Specialists, on the other hand, will receive RM350 per shift, up from RM250 previously.
The Star is waiting for the Higher Education Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, to comment on this case.
