KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today announced an increase in on-call allowances for government doctors and dentists in Malaysia, although the hike falls short of demands made by the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).
“The Ministry of Health (MOH) will implement a new targeted work system in hospitals and health clinics. For health facilities adopting this system, the government has agreed to increase the on-call allowance by RM55 to RM65 for medical officers and dental officers, depending on the service and department,” Anwar said during his Budget 2025 speech.
The increase, however, is equivalent to just an additional RM2.30 to RM2.70 per hour for a 24-hour shift.
Currently, government doctors receive RM9.16 per hour for on-call duties. With the new increase, this would rise to about RM11.50 or RM11.90 per hour – far below the RM25 per hour requested by the MMA.
The association had urged the government to raise the on-call allowance by 173 per cent, which would have resulted in a rate of RM600 for a 24-hour shift, compared to the current RM220 for weekend active on-call duties, which is a RM380 increase.
In his speech, Anwar called on public servants to adopt a more efficient work culture, stressing that reforms would only be meaningful if supported by civil service efficiency.
“It would be meaningless if the policies we propose are not backed by the efficiency of public service. Civil servants must be agile, and service to the people must be instilled,” Anwar said, adding that RM10 billion will be allocated to provide additional support and a fairer system for all public servants.
