KUCHING, Apr 16: Sarawak United Peoples’ Party (SUPP) Education Bureau lambasted the Health Ministry (MOH) for offering only a six-month contract renewal to 2,070 pharmacists, dental officers (DOs) and medical officers (MOs) to fight Covid-19 outbreak.
Its chairman Datuk Ding Kuong Hiing said parents of these young professionals felt that their children were being treated like disposable diapers and tissue paper.
“Yesterday (Apr 15), MoH announced that 1,139 pharmacists, 852 dental officers (DO) and 79 medical officers (MO) will be given six-month contracts to help the Government to fight the outbreak of Covid-19.
“The announcement of the MoH is shocking and extremely unreasonable to the 1,139 pharmacists, 852 DOs and 79 MOs. Parents of these young men and women and any man of a reasonable mind will be as angry and bitter as these young medical professionals,” said Ding in a press statement today.
He said SUPP Education Bureau is extremely sympathetic towards these medical professionals who are risking their own young lives to save the lives of others.
“We will fight for them for fair and reasonable contracts with the MoH,” said Ding in a statement today.
To the bureau, during these difficult hours caused by the outbreak of Covid-19, what the Ministry of Health (MoH) desperately needs is competent, loyal and dedicated medical staff comprising MOs, specialists, nurses and medical assistants etc who are now the front liners fighting against Covid-19.
“By offering the 79 MOs a 6-month contract, it seems that MOH has forgotten that they are the staff of MoH whom the MoH must highly respect and treat them with utmost sincerity and dignity.
“Any pharmacist, DO or MO who is offered a 6-month contract will feel insulted.”
He said SUPP Education Bureau is of the view that the MoH has to offer them not just good remuneration alone but a sense of security of the job of which the young medical professionals can see a bright future working for MoH.
“With a contract lasting only 6 months, where is their future with the MoH? Parents have told us that the MoH is just making use of these young 1,139 pharmacists, 852 DOs and 79 MOs like disposable diapers and tissue papers. The 6-month contract is tantamount to ‘one use’ usage only.”
He said in Malaysia, a foreign worker or a domestic maid can even get a guarantee of a two-year contract with their employers. Yet, the proposed offer by the MOH to these 2,070 young professionals are worse off than foreign workers and domestic maids.
“Parents have told our Bureau that the MOH is really treating the frontliners who are its staff like dirt. Young MOs are the future of the medical fraternity of our country. They are the medical specialists in the making. Malaysia faces a shortage of medical specialists and in years to come our country needs them to serve the country.
“The young 1,139 pharmacists, 852 DOs and 79 MOs truly deserve much better than this sort of callous and insincere treatment and offer from the MOH.
“SUPP Education Bureau hereby strongly expresses its opposition to the offer of a 6-month contract to the young professionals from the pharmaceutical, dental and medical fraternities.
“SUPP Education Bureau hereby proposes the MOH must offer a minimum of a 5-year contract to these 1139 pharmacists, DOs and MOs because they are risking their lives as front liners fighting against Covid-19,” said Ding who is also Maradong assemblyman.—DayakDaily
