THE Health Ministry (MOH) needs to present a united front to the Public Services Department (JPA) so that contract doctors can be granted permanent employment, former health ministry director-general Dr Mohamed Ismail Merican said.

With the Covid-19 pandemic ravaging the country, Malaysia is in need of healthcare professionals and it did not make sense not to give contract doctors a post.

“Now you have these doctors, you cannot tell them they have no job. 

“With the pandemic, you need professionals. We cannot just brush off this issue. MOH needs to present a united front to JPA. 

“JPA will find a means to employ the doctors and if you don’t it will be an unpopular decision,” he said in an online forum hosted by Wong Chun Wai, The Star Media Group adviser.

Ismail oversaw the country’s management of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003 and retired in 2011.

He added that the ratio of doctors to patients in Kuala Lumpur was 1 to 300, while in Sabah and Sarawak it was 1 to 3,000. 

“I’m sure there are a lot of things they can do. These doctors can spread everywhere. Don’t just focus on urban areas.”

The contract doctor system was first introduced in 2016 as an initial solution to the delayed placement of house officers. 

Upon joining government service, junior doctors are given a five-year contract package that consists of a three-year contract with an option of a two-year extension.

However, since 2016, out of 23,077 contract doctors, only 789 have been given permanent positions in public healthcare.

Currently there are 32 medical schools in Malaysia. Of which, 11 are public institutions while 21 are private colleges and universities. – July 17, 2021.