PETALING JAYA: A special appointment exercise for medical officers with the U10 Grade will be carried out to meet healthcare service placement needs in Sabah and Sarawak, says the Health Ministry.
It said the first phase of recruitment would involve filling 750 permanent positions across both states.
Applications for this special recruitment exercise will be open from Nov 9 to 15, with successful candidates tentatively scheduled to report for duty on Feb 15, 2027.
The ministry said this initiative forms part of the Madani government's commitment to permanently appoint more than 9,000 medical officers as announced in Budget 2027.
"The proactive measure is also aimed at narrowing staffing gaps and ensuring optimal retention of medical personnel in Sabah and Sarawak," said the ministry in a statement on Thursday (Oct 29).
The ministry added that applications are open to all contract medical officers who underwent housemanship training from Series 1/2016 (Dec 5, 2016) and Series 6/2024 (Oct 14, 2024).
"This includes officers whose service contracts with the Health Ministry have ended," it said.
To qualify, the ministry said candidates must have successfully completed their housemanship training and be fully registered with the Malaysian Medical Council no later than the closing date of the recruitment advertisement.
It added that all eligible, interested and prepared medical officers are encouraged to submit their applications through the Public Service Commission's SPA9 portal once the recruitment advertisement opens.
"Only official applications submitted through the SPA9 portal during the advertised application period will be considered for the appointment exercise," it said.
When tabling Budget 2027, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government was committed to ending the contract doctor issue.
He said the Madani administration has also appointed more than 15,000 contract doctors to permanent posts since 2023, including 4,000 in 2026.
"For 2027, more than 9,000 contract doctors will be offered permanent posts, meaning that doctors who successfully complete their housemanship will subsequently be offered permanent medical officer positions," he said when tabling the Budget.
