‘Health Ministry should improve working hours, ensure more balanced doctor-to-patient ratios and reduce unnecessary paperwork’
PETALING JAYA: The government must address the reasons doctors are leaving the public healthcare system instead of focusing solely on offering permanent appointments, the Malaysian Chinese Association said.
Its deputy secretary-general Datuk Dr Pamela Yong said many doctors are declining the permanent positions they had previously fought to secure.
“The government must act decisively before Malaysia loses more skilled doctors,” she said, adding that the struggle for the absorption of contract doctors into permanent positions has continued for almost a decade.
Yong cited Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad’s recent disclosure that 3,511 medical officers left the public healthcare sector between 2023 and 2025.
She also referred to the Hartal Doktor Kontrak movement’s estimate that between 15,000 and 20,000 doctors remain on contract.
She also said unresolved issues affecting the profession could eventually develop into a national healthcare crisis that directly impacts patients.
Yong said improving working conditions should take priority over increasing recruitment.
“Burnout, frequent on-call duties and poor work-life balance are among the main reasons many doctors reject permanent appointments.”
She said the Health Ministry should improve working hours, ensure more balanced doctor-to-patient ratios, reduce unnecessary paperwork through digital systems and enforce protected rest periods after long on-call shifts.
She added that young doctors need predictable and transparent career pathways, and urged the government to establish clear promotion criteria and ensure a transparent selection process for specialist training.
“Salary is only one aspect of retaining doctors. At this point, salary alone is insufficient to compensate for the demands of the job.”
She stressed that compensation should also include better on-call allowances, housing assistance, childcare support, relocation incentives and educational or loan repayment assistance to make public service a more attractive career.
Yong said many rural hospitals in East Malaysia remain understaffed and called for higher rural allowances, subsidised housing and accelerated promotion opportunities.
“What is also needed is priority access to specialist training after rural service and additional annual leave for medical officers relocating from Peninsular Malaysia.
“Positive incentives are more likely to encourage long-term retention than mandatory postings.”
On July 9, Health Deputy Minister Datuk Hanifah Hajar Taib said only 20 of 39 medical officers offered permanent postings in Sabah under the first intake reported for duty, while 19 rejected the offers.
She also projected that only about half of the 560 permanent medical officer postings earmarked for Sabah this year would be filled.
The Malaysian Medical Association subsequently said permanent appointments alone would not solve the challenge of attracting and retaining doctors, especially in Sabah and Sarawak.
It called for greater flexibility in inter-state transfers, clearer career pathways, financial and relocation support, better housing assistance and wider access to specialist training to improve long-term retention.
