Malaysia’s health ministry reaffirms efforts to retain doctors as Singapore dangles lucrative job offers

MALAYSIA: Malaysia’s Health Ministry (MOH) has reaffirmed its commitment to retaining doctors and healthcare workers within the public health system, despite having no legal authority to prevent them from accepting employment abroad.

This comes in response to online discussions sparked by a now-deleted social media post, reportedly shared on Threads by Dr Amanda Elli, a medical doctor and health influencer.

The post had advertised a recruitment event offering Malaysian doctors the opportunity to work in Singapore.

According to the post, the recruitment session—organised by Talent Angels, an agency authorised to recruit for Singapore’s Ministry of Health—is scheduled for August at Traders Hotel, KLCC.

The job openings target medical officers and clinical associates, with applicants required to be Malaysian citizens holding a basic medical degree.

Graduates from all universities, not just Universiti Malaya (UM) or Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), are reportedly welcome to apply.

Dr Elli described the offer as a “great opportunity” for Malaysian doctors to build savings and potentially return home after working overseas.

“Singapore's MOH is coming directly to Traders Hotel, KLCC to interview GPs and doctors interested in working abroad,” she wrote.

“It's such a great opportunity to gather savings for at least two years and then come back to Malaysia if homesick.”

According to her post, the basic annual salary would be SGD110,000 (approximately RM365,000), excluding various benefits such as a monthly accommodation allowance, relocation support, overtime pay, bonuses, flight tickets, insurance, and multiple forms of leave.

In response, Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad acknowledged the right of individuals to pursue overseas opportunities, noting that such cross-border recruitment is in line with international frameworks.

“We cannot block cross-border recruitment. It’s an individual right, and this is aligned with the Mutual Recognition Arrangement and the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services.

These agreements allow for labour mobility across ASEAN countries, as mutually agreed.

That said, we want our doctors, specialists and nurses with post-basic training to stay with us,” he told reporters during the national-level Aedes control mega programme held in conjunction with ASEAN Dengue Day 2025.

Nevertheless, Dzulkefly emphasised that the ministry is taking steps to encourage healthcare professionals to remain in Malaysia’s healthcare system.

He said the ministry is expediting the transition of contract doctors into permanent positions, especially in light of the nation’s ongoing demand for medical personnel.

“We won’t delay. We are expediting the process to absorb contract workers into permanent roles. As soon as there are vacancies, we will act,” he said.

The contract doctor system was initially introduced to accommodate a surge in medical graduates over the past decade amid limited permanent positions. However, Dzulkefly noted that the situation has since changed.

“That situation no longer applies, as the number of medical graduates has dropped significantly. There should now be enough positions available for new permanent appointments,” he added.

Housemen Numbers Have Halved Since 2019

The number of housemen at Malaysia’s Health Ministry has dropped by more than 50% since 2019, raising concerns about staffing shortages in public hospitals.

According to data from the ministry’s Human Resources Division, there were 6,134 housemen in 2019, falling to 3,271 in 2023.

This decline has also led to an uneven distribution of housemen across government hospitals that offer housemanship.

A similar trend is seen in the provisional registration of medical graduates with the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC), which also halved over recent years.

In 2017, there were 6,147 provisionally registered graduates, compared to just 3,131 in 2022.

These figures include graduates from both local and overseas medical schools.

Provisional registration allows new doctors to complete general clinical training required for full registration under the Medical Act 1971.

The number of medical graduates from local universities has also declined steadily.

In 2017, local institutions produced 3,902 graduates, but by 2021, the number had dropped to 2,667.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad acknowledged the issue in an X post in April 2024, stating, “There was a time where there were 6,000–7,000 medical graduates a year.

Now, we have a little over 3,000, which has led to fewer housemen at hospitals."

Healthcare stakeholders have warned that the shortage, if left unresolved, will strain Malaysia’s public healthcare system.

Hartal Doktor Kontrak spokesman Dr Muhammad Yassin said the group had already predicted the shortfall in 2021.

He noted a global trend of students moving away from science-based fields, contributing to fewer medical graduates.

In Malaysia, he added, the situation is worsened by longstanding issues linked to the contract system introduced in 2016.

Under this system, many Malaysian doctors are only offered short-term contracts by the government.

As a result, they earn significantly less than their predecessors and lack access to key civil service benefits.

Dr Yassin said this has led to mental stress among healthcare workers, reduced morale, and a greater risk of medical errors.

Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Azizan Abdul Aziz explained that the expansion of medical school enrolments in the late 1990s and early 2000s led to a surge in graduates.

However, this prompted a moratorium on intake in 2011.

The introduction of the contract system five years later, coupled with declining student numbers, has caused more overseas graduates to remain abroad, further compounding the local manpower shortage.