KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA — Contract doctors in the country should not be treated like the disposable personal protective equipment (PPE) they don in treating COVID-19 patients in hospitals and quarantine centres, said former health minister Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad.
Speaking in Parliament during the morning session of a special meeting on Tuesday (27 July), the Kuala Selangor Member of Parliament (MP) said that contract doctors who took part in the nationwide strike on Monday should not be penalised for “exercising their democratic rights in a civil way”.
Dang Wangi district police chief Assistant Commissioner Mohamad Zainal Abdullah said that investigation papers related to the Hartal Doktor Kontrak movement will be opened, Astro Awani reported on Monday.
This is despite Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani’s earlier statement that police have received no indication that the strike will threaten public order.
The massive walkout took place after Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s “half-baked” proposal to lengthen their contracts has failed to placate their demands regarding their security of tenure.
Dr Dzulkefly, a Pakatan Harapan politician, served as health minister when the coalition was elected to power in the 14th general election in 2018.
Rebutting claims that he did not play any role in helping to remedy the contract system issue, Dr Dzulkefly said that he had convened a Health Recovery Council during his tenure.
As then-minister-in-charge, Dr Dzulkefly said that the council’s plans for reform in 2019 included raising the salaries of contract medical officers.
However, plans were disrupted when Perikatan Nasional took over following the ‘Sheraton Move’.
The ‘Sheraton Move’ derived its name from the Petaling Jaya hotel in which a meeting among leaders from the Malay-centric Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia — which is now led by Muhyiddin — and PKR attempting to form an alliance with Umno and other parties in a bid to establish a new government.
PH had earlier wrested power from Najib Razak’s BN administration in 2018, particularly after the former premier became mired in controversy over his alleged abuse of state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad, among others. BN governed Malaysia for 61 years since the nation’s independence prior to the 2018 general election.
“We have been consistent in raising this issue. I ask the Health Minister to note this matter,” Dr Dzulkefly told the House.
Johor Baru MP Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said that the contract doctors’ strike is a clear indication of how the welfare of young doctors in the country has been neglected, despite their crucial role in fighting the pandemic.
Other PH MPs, including Batu Kawan’s Kasthuri Patto and Bukit Gelugor’s Ramkarpal Singh, also raised concerns on the police investigations and disciplinary proceedings reportedly faced by contract doctors who participated in the strike.
Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad urged Health Minister Dr Adham Baba to state his position on the contract doctors’ demands and on the probes being conducted against them.
In the afternoon session of Tuesday’s meeting, Health Minister Adham Baba said in Parliament on Tuesday that contract doctors who participated in the walkout will not be subjected to any disciplinary actions or punishment.
Thanking the Minister for the assurance, Dr Dzulkefly sought clarification on whether the government will consider pushing for an extension of eight to 10 years instead of the two years proposed by the government.
“You cannot do postgraduate studies in that (short amount of) time,” he said.
Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz earlier told Parliament that affected contract doctors will have two years added to their contracts.
The extension will cost the government approximately RM1.2 billion.
Contract extensions merely “a sugarcoating statement to shut us up”: Contract doctors reject short-term proposals mooted by PM, Cabinet
Among the key suggestions earlier put forth by Muhyiddin and the Cabinet regarding the security of tenure of contract doctors include offering a two-year contract extension for medical officers, pharmacists, and dental officers who have completed their compulsory service.
For medical officers and dental officers who have been selected to do the relevant Masters’ programme, the government may grant a four-year contract extension, according to the government’s plans.
In a statement on 24 July, the Hartal Doktor Kontrak movement said that simply adding more years to such contracts is not a means of solving the problem but merely “a sugarcoating statement to shut us up”.
“We know well how the system works, we are not buying it. Nobody wise enough will accept it. Stop giving us a half-baked solution given by people who are not even in this field, or don’t even know how the system works, or maybe don’t even bother to think thoroughly about it because the problem is not theirs,” they added.
Stressing the importance of offering permanent posts to all contract medical and other healthcare officers, Hartal Doktor Kontrak said that the lack of job security for contract doctors will not be remedied through such proposed extensions.
“A contract medical doctor is forever seen as a second-class doctor compared to their permanent counterparts,” they said.
The movement added that the short duration of extensions is absurd, given that it usually takes “many years” before medical officers are accepted into the Master’s programme.
“An extension of contract for a maximum of 4 years for those accepted into the Master’s programme also seems bizarre, as the duration of the programme itself is a minimum of 4 years,” Hartal Doktor Kontrak noted.
“This shows the (ministers’) lack of understanding in our local specialist training,” they added.
