Dr A Lingeshwaran has called for the establishment of an independent Health Service Commission (HSC) that is able to operate beyond the constraints of the civil service framework, amid concerns of medical personnel shortage.
Asserting that healthcare workers urgently require structural reforms as they are “fed up” with bureaucratic solutions, the former DAP senator highlighted that the HSC was a promised aspect of the Health White Paper (HWP), which Parliament passed in 2023.
Noting that the HSC is not merely an administrative reform but also a systemic one, Lingeshwaran (above) said that with autonomy in human resource management, budget, and staffing, the commission would be able to accelerate the filling of positions based on actual clinical needs.
It would also offer competitive reward and retention schemes, including retention allowances, specialist premiums, and reduce dependence on the structural constraints of the Public Service Department (PSD), he added.
Besides more sustainably balancing supply and demand of the healthcare workforce, Lingeshwaran said the HSC would also protect the academic integrity of training institutions so that universities do not merely become “workforce factories”.
“Every time a cabinet reshuffle occurs, the minister changes, but reform remains delayed (as) what changes is only the minister, not the system.
“The country cannot continue to be trapped in a cycle of leadership changes without real policy change,” he cautioned.
He stressed that instead of “endless negotiations”, the healthcare human resources crisis requires reform and immediate action aimed at “saving” the public healthcare system.
Lingeshwaran, who is also a former Sungai Bakap Hospital director, further referenced a proposal to establish a National Healthcare Workforce Committee (NHWC), as earlier revealed by Health director-general Dr Mahathar Abd Wahab.
Lingeshwaran said that while the proposal is “well-intentioned”, it is perceived as a temporary measure that fails to address core issues.
“Health Ministry personnel have long been exhausted and frustrated by various committees, task forces, and working groups previously established, yet the long-awaited reforms have yet to be translated into reality,” he claimed.
“Do not waste time establishing another committee. Implement the HSC now. From committee to commission - this is the reform Malaysia needs.”
Speaking truth
On April 23, health portal Code Blue reported that the fragmented nature of Malaysia’s pipeline for producing and deploying doctors has contributed to delays in graduates entering service, shortages in healthcare facilities, and gaps in care delivery for patients.
The pipeline is said to be divided between the Higher Education Ministry, PSD, and the Health Ministry.
The Malaysian Medical Council president had also said the Health Ministry is looking at the establishment of the NHWC as part of efforts to strengthen governance and better align education with employment across the pipeline.
However, Code Blue reported that in response to its queries, Mahathar’s office said his proposal remains under consideration and requires further engagement with central agencies and relevant stakeholders.
His office reportedly added that the Health Ministry does not intend to pre-empt any policy decisions that fall under the jurisdiction of the government as a whole.
In an April 24 statement, Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Thirunavukarasu Rajoo said that while Mahathar’s position requires him to be “measured” in how he expresses his opinions, the MMA is not bound by such restrictions.
“(Mahathar) raising this publicly is not insubordination. It is not a breach of hierarchy. It is the head of the nation’s healthcare workforce doing exactly what his role demands: speaking truth about a systemic failure that is directly affecting the people this system is meant to serve.
“He deserves support for that, not silence,” Thirunavukarasu affirmed.
He also pointed out that the higher education minister, the PSD director-general, and the finance minister all report to the prime minister, whom he urged to convene all relevant agencies around a single mandate personally.
The aim, he said, should be to build a seamless, end-to-end healthcare workforce pipeline that produces the right professionals, absorbs them without delay, and retains them where they are needed most.
“(Mahathar) knows what needs to be done. He has said it publicly and professionally. MMA stands fully behind him. Now it is time for the political will to match the clarity of the problem.
“Malaysia does not have a workforce shortage. Malaysia has a governance failure, (which) is solved at the top,” Thirunavukarasu added.
Systemic issues
Contract doctors’ rights group Hartal Doktor Kontrak had previously backed calls for the HSC and fully supported Mahathar’s “unprecedented transparency” in addressing systemic issues affecting Malaysia’s healthcare workforce.
“To claim that existing agencies are sufficient is, quite frankly, a denial of the reality we live every day.
“The current overlap is exactly what causes the delays, the confusion, and the lack of accountability,” the group said in an April 25 statement.
The matter came amid alarm over the nation’s potential shortage of doctors, with Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad informing the Dewan Negara last month that Malaysia’s intake of medical graduates for housemanship has dropped by about half since 2019.
According to Code Blue, the minister said that while the Health Ministry had offered 5,000 housemanship slots for the January 2026 intake, only 529 medical graduates reported for duty.
“If this human resource issue is not addressed, we will face a situation that I believe has long been a crisis,” he was quoted as saying.
He reportedly added that the shrinking pipeline of doctors is partly linked to past policy moves, including a moratorium on medical programmes implemented at a time when Malaysia faced an oversupply of doctors and long waiting times for housemanship placements. - Mkini
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