KUALA LUMPUR, August 20 — Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) thanked Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today for a salary raise for civil servants across the board, but demanded a revision of government doctors’ on-call allowance.
The informal group representing contract doctors – which previously organised a walkout on July 26, 2021 – said the salary increase, the first in 12 years, would boost the morale of health care workers.
“However, while we welcome this positive development, it is crucial to emphasise that the salary raise should not preclude the urgent need to revise the on-call allowances for doctors,” HDK said in a statement.
“These allowances, which have not been revised for over a decade, are essential to maintaining the sustainability of Malaysia’s health care system.”
Anwar announced last Friday a 15 per cent salary increase for civil servants in the implementing, as well as management and professional groups, that would be implemented in two phases: December 1, 2024 (8 per cent) and January 1, 2026 (7 per cent). The top management group will receive a 7 per cent salary increment, also in two phases.
“The current on-call rates, last reviewed in 2012, are no longer adequate given the increased responsibilities and inflationary pressures faced by medical professionals,” HDK said.
“This issue must be addressed immediately to prevent the further exodus of doctors to the private sector, which threatens to undermine the public health care system.”
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said last February that he would announce, “in the near future”, new on-call allowance rates for doctors in the public health service after Cabinet made a decision, but he has yet to make such an announcement, six months on.
Medical officers receive RM220 for an active on-call shift on public holidays and weekends, whereas specialist doctors are paid just RM30 more at RM250. The RM220 rate for medical officers is equivalent to RM9.16 per hour for 24 hours’ work.
HDK’s statement today did not specify its desired on-call allowance rate; the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) previously called for an RM25 hourly rate.
An anonymous medical officer in the Klang Valley, in a letter to CodeBlue yesterday, demanded a 218 per cent increase in on-call allowance to RM700 per on-call shift, which amounts to RM29.17 per hour.
Even without currency conversion, Malaysia’s on-call allowance of RM220 per shift is lower than Australia (AUD100 to AUD300), Singapore (SG$300 to SG$400), Brunei (BND360), the United Kingdom (GBP360 to GBP840), and Europe (EUR720 to EUR1,680).
The medical officer also characterised the general 15 per cent salary raise for civil servants as undervaluing doctors and other health care workers, calling instead for a 40 per cent pay hike for all government doctors.
Malaysia’s public health service has been suffering attrition of doctors across all levels – housemen, medical officers, and specialist doctors – particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic, causing severe staff shortages in multiple government hospitals.
Unlike other civil servants like school teachers, police officers, or administrative staff, producing a doctor requires a far longer time (seven years’ medical school) and much higher training cost (nearly RM1 million); doctors are also a high-skill workforce that is in demand globally.
