KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 19 — Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said today he would peruse the cases of four contract medical officers (MOs) whose government contracts were not renewed last year.
“It’s unfortunate that it has happened, but I will immediately look into these cases because I’m confident I can give them justice,” Dzulkefly told reporters after an event in Serdang today.
SUPP highlighted yesterday two Sibu General Hospital female doctors in their 20s — Dr Wong Woan Hui, an MO with the obstetrics & gynaecology (O&G) department, and Dr Bong Ing Hui, an MO with the paediatric department — whose contracts were not renewed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) last November after they served their compulsory two-year service with the government since 2017.
Dr Bong reportedly said she declined a job offer with a seven-year contract from the United Kingdom after getting her paediatric degree there because she wanted to serve her home country.
Two other young contract MOs from Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail, Johor, and Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan, Pahang, also failed to get permanent positions or contract renewals last November after completion of their two-year mandatory government service since 2017.
Late last year, Dzulkefly told doctors to seek employment in the private sector, like in pharmaceutical companies or medical labs, if they fail to obtain permanent positions in the civil service due to a lack of vacancies. However, these young people will likely struggle in finding jobs as doctors because private hospitals mostly employ specialists.
