KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry has allocated 960 permanent medical officer positions for Sabah and Sarawak under the first phase of its ePlacement system to address staff shortages.
Sarawak has been allocated 650 positions and Sabah 310, making up 42.7 per cent of the 2,248 placements nationwide, which is the highest allocation compared with states in Peninsular Malaysia.
The ministry, in a written reply to the Dewan Rakyat, said contract medical officers appointed to permanent positions must choose at least one placement in Sabah or Sarawak through the system.
"The ministry is expediting the recruitment of 4,500 permanent medical officers in phases," it said, adding that under the first phase, 328 medical officers were offered permanent roles and reported for duty on June 29.
"The remaining 4,172 officers are scheduled to report for duty in October," the ministry said in response to Datuk Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy (BN-Kalabakan), who asked about solutions to the imbalance of doctors between Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia.
The ministry said it also provided incentives including regional housing allowances and travel fares for medical officers and their families.
Other measures include location-based incentive payments and allowances for medical officers in rural areas to return to their hometowns.
"Transfer-related claims, including cargo transportation costs, are also provided, while specialists posted to Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan are eligible for the specialist placement incentive payment," it said.
The ministry added that transfer claim eligibility issues, which previously hindered the acceptance of placements in Sabah and Sarawak, were streamlined in June.
As a long-term solution, the ministry said the production of local medical graduates from Sabah must be increased, alongside expanded financial assistance and sponsorships for Sabah-born students pursuing medical degrees. - NST
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.