SOME 4,000 to 5,000 doctors nationwide are expected to take part in the strike which is slated for July 26, a representative of the Hartal Doktor Kontrak group said today.

Dr Umar Baraka said doctors from Sungai Buloh hospital, one of the main treatment centres for Covid-19 patients, will also take part in the strike.

This will throw the public healthcare system into chaos as currently there are more than 145,000 active Covid-19 patients.

“We have no choice, we will go ahead with the strike on July 26 in all health facilities nationwide. We did a survey and found that around 4,000 to 5,000 doctors will take part in the strike,” said Dr Umar, who was accompanied by some 20 doctors in an online press conference held via Google Meet.

“It (the strike) will take place in Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Kedah, Hospital Taiping and Ipoh, Hospital Sultanah Aminah and Hospital Sultan Ismail in Johor and Sungai Buloh Hospital among others,” the representative said in an online press conference held via Google Meet.

The strike on July 26 will start with a walkout by junior doctors at 11am.

The group said junior doctors have given the government enough time to come up with a permanent solution, adding that the prime minister’s announcement yesterday was merely a temporary solution and a “half-baked” offer.

“This contract system will cause the healthcare system to collapse. Just look at how many doctors have resigned over the past several days,” Dr Umar said.
 
“There is no political will to make any changes and the government has been hiding the real situation in the hospitals from the public.

“We want to show that we (junior doctors) are large in numbers and without us the hospitals will not be able to cope, especially during this Covid-19 pandemic.”

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin yesterday announced that Putrajaya will extend the contract term for medical officers and dentists who have been accepted into specialist training to a maximum period of four years.

Dr Umar said contract doctors have had enough of being treated as “cheap labour” with no career progress and benefits that are given to the permanent staff.

“They think we are hooligans, but the strike is well-planned and we put patient care as our utmost priority. We will hand over our duties to our permanent colleagues before walking out.

“The reality is we are burned out. Out of more than 20,000 contract doctors, only 3.4% have been absorbed as permanent staff and there is no clear criteria for us to work towards this either.

“As long as the government does not treat us fairly and give a proper solution to our demands, we may have hartal 2.0.

“We will see how the government reacts on Monday,” he said, adding that he doesn’t want the government to absorb all contract doctors into the civil service at one go, but they can do it in phases.

The doctor said the government and the ministers who are in charge have not approached the group for any discussions.

Instead, the Malaysian Medical Association was given facetime to meet with Health Minister Dr Adham Baba and Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz.

“While we appreciate MMA’s help, it is a non-governmental organisation made up of mostly permanent doctors. They do not understand the struggle that we are going through. They met with the ministers but we were never invited to the discussion.”

When asked if the doctors participating in the strike were worried about potential backlash and termination, Umar said they were merely exercising their rights to freedom of speech.

“We have a legal aid team if they decide to terminate us, but we are exercising our rights as provided in the Federal Constitution. There are risks, but we have to do what is necessary.”

The group also encouraged contract doctors stationed in local health clinics, Covid-19 assessment centres, vaccination centres and quarantine centres to show their solidarity on July 26 by posting messages on social media.

Data from MoH showed that a total of 23,077 UD41 grade contract medical officers were picked to undergo graduate training and compulsory service between December 2016 and May 2021.

However, only 789 of them were offered permanent positions, leaving many in limbo while many others have applied for jobs overseas. – July 24, 2021.