KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — Dzulkefly Ahmad told government doctors today that the Waktu Bekerja Berlainan (WBB) shift system could transform and better equip the health service for the future.
Speaking at a Ministry of Health (MOH) town hall at the ministry’s Putrajaya headquarters for staff, Dzulkefly described WBB as an “add-on work scheme” designed to complement existing schedules.
“To me, this is such a novel, a game-changer, if I can use that term this morning,” said Dzulkefly, who physically joined the town hall some two hours into the session.
“What’s even more beautiful is that when you get to do WBB, you can come back to the whole status quo of on-call.
“You have a novel (system) that is very responsive and robust. That is what attracts me most because it fits in my vision of a continuously learning organisation that is very receptive and always ready for future challenges.”
The WBB town hall this morning was held in a hybrid format – in-person at MOH Putrajaya and on Zoom. At least 1,000 people, including CodeBlue, attended the Zoom session; some were unable to join in at certain times as the online session reached its participant limit.
Dzulkefly explained that the implementation of WBB is optional. “It is not a complete system overhaul. Health care facilities can choose to adopt WBB or revert to the existing on-call system if the necessary criteria are not met.”
During his intervention, Dzulkefly insisted that he was unaware of the WBB proposal until MOH medical development division director Dr Mohd Azman Yacob’s January 10 circular on it – which stated a February 1 launch date of the pilot project – was reported in the media.
“Somehow, this proposal maybe didn’t reach me at the right time. I’m quite sure you [Medical Development Division] have arranged for me to hear the entire presentation, but maybe, in the course of doing all this, through an accident of history, the media, The Star, informed me about the whole issue, and unfortunately, it became what it is. But perhaps, I’ll say it again, this is a blessing in disguise,” the health minister told the town hall.
“I’m a perpetual optimist. I’ll remain someone who always looks at the glass half full, so it’s fine. It’s already water under the bridge. I’ll move on with determination and persistence, but how it got to the media earlier than we managed is unfortunate. And I would like whoever was responsible to be taking responsibility for that. I’m not very angry, but I feel a bit regretful about that aspect because we could have managed this better.”
The town hall – which was hastily called after the health minister’s remarks to reporters on WBB yesterday – saw an outpouring of anger and frustration from health care workers, particularly in the chatbox on Zoom.
Some demanded the resignations of Dzulkefly and Health director-general Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan. Dr Radzi was physically present at the town hall.
#DGToResign and #YBMKpleaseresign were some hashtags posted in the Zoom chatbox. Other participants called for a doctors’ strike.
“Ybmk tunggu la kami mogok besar-besaran,” one person wrote. (Translation: YBMK, wait until we launch a huge strike).
One comment highlighted pay cuts resulting from the WBB schedule, while others criticised the inflexibility of the new system. “Instead of increasing on-call claims, we’re getting almost a RM600 pay cut with our normal 6-7 calls,” one MOH doctor wrote.
Further concerns were raised about the impact of the new schedule on work-life balance, with some questioning how the new system could function without proper financial incentives.
“How can working overnight on a weekday be paid the same amount as a weekend shift?” another query asked. Others demanded a “revamp” of the MOH’s leadership, calling for a total overhaul of the top management.
“This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in 2025. Congrats, you’ve opened more rooms for resignations,” one participant remarked. “Because it’s not doable, everyone is debating. It doesn’t make sense. The core issues are not being addressed,” another added.
Many raised practical concerns, particularly about staff shortages.
An emergency department (ED) medical officer from Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL), who attended the town hall in person, shared her experience.
“I think WBB gives a chance to the on-call team. But I’m in the ED, working in a shift system. Right now, my team has already done 45 hours this month. Do you know the result? One of my MOs had a stroke. The MCs and ELs are overwhelming. The roster maker is overwhelmed right now,” she said.
“So yes, we are complying with 45 hours right now, but it’s killing us in the ED at HKL because we have 12 zones despite having a hundred MOs. So, what is the solution for us in the ED? Nine hours – we cannot eat, we cannot drink, we just breathe empty. It’s so intense.
“With WBB, you want us to do 18 hours. It’s so intense. I need to ask now [about this] WBB. It looks good for on-call people, but what about us in the shift system? Forty-five hours right now.”
At the town hall, senior MOH officials defended the WBB shift system, saying that it was intended to ensure that medical officers do not work for 24 or 33 consecutive hours.
The presentation on WBB was conducted by MOH head of radiology Dr Norzaini Rose Mohd Zain. Only a few questions from the audience, whether in-person or from the Zoom chatbox, were taken up, as much of the three-hour town hall was spent on the presentation or panellists answering their own prepared questions in an FAQ.
Under WBB, medical and dental officers and specialists are slated for 18-hour shifts (3pm-9am) on weekdays. This is equivalent to two straight regular work days.
According to a presentation slide, doctors and dentists are not given an allowance or time-off claims for work after 5pm in a 3pm-9am weekday shift under WBB because they already receive the Critical Allowance for working outside office hours.
“WBB without additional allowance has long been practised in other service schemes, like X-ray technicians, to ensure 24-hour service delivery.”
MOH officials also explained that 3pm was picked as the start of a weekday shift because a WBB segment must start and end on the same day.
Another slide on the MOH’s FAQ read, in Bahasa Malaysia: “Q: On the day I’m on WBB duty, can I stay at home before 3pm? Can.”
Under the WBB system, which will begin as a pilot in certain departments at seven government hospitals on February 1, medical and dental officers, as well as specialists, will not receive the Elaun Tugas Atas Panggilan (ETAP) allowance for 18-hour weekday shifts that are considered part of the standard 45-hour work week.
For shifts on Fridays or pre-weekends (3pm-9am), officers can only claim a reduced ETAP allowance (passive call) for the second half of their shift (12am-9am). The first nine hours (3pm-12am) are not additionally compensated, as they count toward the base 45-hour work week.
The higher on-call allowance of RM275 per shift and RM315 per shift for medical officers and specialist doctors respectively only apply to WBB active calls on weekends or public holidays for 15 or more consecutive hours’ work outside regular hours. This on-call allowance raise is only available to departments or units that implement WBB.
In a press statement issued after the town hall, the MOH said the WBB shift system aims to reduce doctors’ working hours from 99 hours a week (three on-calls) to a maximum 72 hours a week.
Seventy-two hours is equivalent to more than 10 hours a day for seven consecutive days and is 1.6 times higher than the 45-hour base work week for civil servants.
