By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, July 11: The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has urged the government to act swiftly in response to Singapore’s latest recruitment drive targeting Malaysian doctors, warning that continued inaction will worsen the brain drain and cripple the country’s already strained public healthcare system.
MMA president Dato Dr Kalwinder Singh Khaira said while it is every individual’s right to pursue better opportunities abroad, the recent development—where Singapore held a recruitment event in Kuala Lumpur offering attractive remuneration packages to Malaysian doctors—should not be taken lightly.
“Although Singapore has long recruited Malaysian healthcare professionals, recent developments suggest an intensification of these efforts, likely driven by growing healthcare demands in the island nation,” he said in a press statement today.
Dr Kalwinder warned that Malaysia’s public healthcare system is already under strain due to critical shortages of medical personnel across the country.
In Sarawak and Sabah, the situation is particularly severe, with persistent gaps in the number of Medical Officers and specialists prompting calls for greater autonomy in staffing decisions.
He also said the continued outflow of doctors to neighbouring countries such as Singapore, as well as to the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland, will further weaken the country’s ability to deliver essential healthcare services, particularly in underserved regions.
The MMA, he added, has raised this issue repeatedly with both the Ministry of Health and the public, yet meaningful structural reforms have yet to be implemented.
To address the ongoing brain drain, MMA is calling for urgent reforms to improve working conditions and retain doctors in the public sector. Among the key demands are the abolition of the contract system and the restoration of permanent positions for all new doctors to ensure job security and career growth.
The association also urged the government to fulfil its promise to raise on-call allowances, expand specialist training opportunities and remove unnecessary training restrictions particularly the Hadiah Latihan Persekutuan (HLP) requirement.
In addition, MMA is calling for the government to provide full reimbursements for travel and cargo costs for doctors who are transferred between states, especially those relocating to or from East Malaysia. Dr Kalwinder explained that the financial burden of moving one’s family and belongings often deters doctors from accepting transfers, leading some to resign altogether.
He also criticised the current disparity in regional incentive payments (Bayaran Insentif Wilayah or BIW), which has led to unequal take-home salaries among doctors of the same rank, particularly those who were transferred after December 1, 2024. He said this policy is discouraging doctors from accepting posts in Sabah and Sarawak and must be reviewed and rectified.
“Retaining our doctors must be made a national priority. Delaying action risks causing irreparable harm and compromising the quality and accessibility of healthcare for the majority of Malaysians who are dependent on public healthcare services,” he emphasised. – DayakDaily
