KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 29 — The government will extend, by up to four years, the contracts of more than 10,000 medical, dental, and pharmacy officers after their two-year compulsory service.
Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz, while tabling Budget 2022 in Parliament today, said this measure was intended to “ensure continuity of service and to prepare them for specialist study”.
He added that the government has also allocated RM100 million to sponsor specialist studies for 3,000 contract doctors and dentists.
Last July, contract doctors launched a work strike in public hospitals across the country to express their dissatisfaction against the contract scheme with issues like the lack of a clear career progression, as well as inequity in pay and other job benefits enjoyed by their permanent counterparts.
The Hartal movement has demanded permanent positions for doctors in the government sector, saying that an additional two-year contract would not suffice.
