THE proposal to extend the contract of some 10,000 doctors did not go well with the Hartal Doktor Kontrak group, saying it was a move to further delay offering permanent posts.

The group said the announcement in Budget 2022 today was not what they wanted from the government, a permanent post that provided job security and opportunity to advance their career towards specialisation.

“It is delaying the solution (for) another two years. Let someone else worry about it,” the contract doctors group said on Twitter today.

In the budget tabled today, the government allocated RM32.4 billion for the Health Ministry.

Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the government has agreed to extend the contractual appointments of more than 10,000 medical, dental and pharmaceutical officers.

He said their service period of two years would be increased to a maximum of four years to ensure continuity of service and preparation for their specialist studies.

Additionally, he said the government has agreed to RM100 million sponsorship of a specialisation programme for the benefit of 3,000 medical and dental contract officers.

In July, the group of contract doctors attached to the government hospitals started the #HartalDoktorKontrak movement, unhappy at the lack of permanent posts for some estimated 23,000 contract medical officers throughout the country.

A member of the Hartal Doctor Kontrak, Dr Omar, who is from the first batch of doctors to be offered a contractual position, said the budget proposal by the government was only another disappointment.

He said the proposal does not bode well with contract doctors, saying it will only be a loss for the country in the future.

“It is not the solution that we are looking for.

“The proposal is going to cause severe damage, where doctors will start moving out from government sectors to either join private facilities or even migrate from the country. It will be a big loss for our country,” he said.

Omar said he would have been a contract doctor for five years now, come December this year.

He said the government failed to appreciate their talent and sacrifice.

Meanwhile, although the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) welcomed most of the budget proposals announced by Tengku Zafrul, it did not agree with the contract doctor proposal.

President Dr Koh Kar Chai said the proposal fell short of its request.

“We have sought an extension of the contract for medical officers to between seven and 10 years.

“However, an extension of two to four years has been given to allow medical officers an opportunity to specialise,” Koh said in a statement today.

He said that the MMA will continue to engage with the government to discuss the pertaining issue.

Despite this, the MMA welcomed the other proposal made by the finance minister today, which is to provide the RM100 million sponsorship of specialisation courses. – October 29, 2021.