The Malaysian Insight

CONTRACT medical officers (MOs) are seeking career opportunities overseas after their applications for permanent positions in the civil service were rejected, said doctors.

They said these are the more than 22,000 MOs who graduated between 2016 and now but who were not automatically absorbed into the government service as was the practice in the past.

Health Ministry data showed that between December 2016 and May 31, 2021, a total of 23,077 UD41 contract medical officers were picked to undergo graduate training and compulsory service.

However, only 789 of them were offered a permanent position. The rest had their contacts extended until the end of 2022.

Doctors fear the exodus of MOs for jobs abroad will lead to a brain drain.

A group of doctors have decided to stage a protest to pressure the government into offering the MOs permanent employment.

An MO serving in Sarawak, who declined to be named, told The Malaysian Insight he is looking for a job abroad.

“The popular narrative is that doctors are underpaid and overworked. Yes, that’s true. But I feel such a narrative will not gain any public sympathy because everyone is underpaid and overworked these days.

“Instead, I want to highlight the brain drain that is occuring at an alarming level. In the past half a year, I can count at least 10 fellow contract doctors who have left Malaysia to pursue their career overseas,” he said.

“On social media, there are big discussions on where to live and when is the earliest we can  to leave (our post-full registration compulsory service period is two years).”

“I myself am registering with an overseas medical council to seek work in that country. Maybe I’ll return to Malaysia after specialising,” he said.

He said there is a shortage of specialists and manpower in the public health sector and a brain drain will only exacerbate the situation.

He added that urban and suburban areas may not be affected by the shortage of medical workers in public healthcare facilities as there is the option of private hospitals.

However, the problem may trickle down to the rural areas which depend on the public healthcare system.

“After two years plus here, there are still referrals from places I’ve never heard, meaning they are really ‘ulu’ places,” he said.

“With the number of currently people leaving of the system, will MOH be able to sustain services in the rural parts of Borneo? We can be sure no private healthcare groups will bother to open clinics in these places.

“Furthermore, without continued training of specialists, how does MOH intend to replace those who are retiring? As it is, we do not have sufficient specialists in the public sector.”

On career prospects in Malaysia outside MOH, he said teaching hospitals are an option but they are few in number.

“In terms of private practice, GP (general practitioners) work at clinics. Though I’m sure eventually family doctors will also need Family Medicine specialist certification to open a GP clinic,” he said.

Private hospitals do employ a few medical officers to run their service, but they usually need specialists more,” he added.

He said  non-traditional roles such as administration, researcher, drug representatives, medical education and others are an alternative.

“However, these are alternatives. There’s still no concrete solution to the mainstay option of clinical specialisation,” he said.

“A lot have left for the UK, Australia and Singapore to further their training,” he added.

Malaysia losing talent due to poor policies 

Meanwhile, a group of doctors have said they will hold a strike on July 26 if the government does not give in to their demands which include permanent posting for contract MOs.

The spokersperson for “HartalDoktorKontrak strike” said the group will submit a memorandum to the Ministry of Health today.

“We have numbers and will continue to have them as we progress, we will give the government a time frame to meet our demands and negotiate.

“If this fails, we will launch a one-day strike which will include not coming to work until our demands are met,” he said without revealing how many people will participate in the nationwide strike.

The group is concerned over the future of contract MOs.

“We did send an open letter (to MOH) but did not receive a response. We will proceed with the memorandum tomorrow,” he said.

He said contract MOs do not have enough career options outside the clinical field, unless they try their hands in other fields.

“We have lost our talents as a result of our poor policymaking,” he said.

The Malaysian Medical Association’s Section Concerning House Officers, Medical Officers and Specialists (Schomos) had also launched the “Code Black” campaign as a sign of protest against what it sees as an unfair contract medical officer (MO) system.

The Code Black campaign will run from July 1 to July 12, culminating in “Black Monday” on July 12 when supporters will change their personal profile pictures, company or institution logo to black or monochrome for the first 12 days of the campaign, visit the MMA Schomos Facebook page for latest information and updates regarding contract doctors, and help to share the news.

Doctors were also told to go to work as usual, but they must wear black on July 12.

They were also urged to hold a placard: “We stand with contract healthcare workers” and post pictures on social media with the hashtags #saveMYcontractHCW, #CodeBlackMY and #BlackMondayMY only.

MMA Schomos said the colour black was chosen as a symbolism to mourn the bright young talents Malaysia has lost to other countries and to recognise the injustice faced by all contract healthcare workers in Malaysia

Health Minister Dr Adham Baba has said the the cabinet will discuss the issue. – July 1, 2021.