PUTRAJAYA, Jan 21 — An internal committee is empowered to proceed with piloting the Waktu Bekerja Berlainan (WBB) shift system in select hospital departments on February 1, Dzulkefly Ahmad announced today.
The health minister said the Medical Advisory & Action Committee (MAAC) has the “punca kuasa” (authority) to decide whether or not to execute the pilot project and whether to launch it on February 1, as per its “surat edaran” (letter for distribution).
“This is an internal activity; whether WBB can or should be implemented is an internal matter. Whether they want to execute it or not, it’s up to MAAC, like what I mentioned. To determine whether to pilot it on February 1 or whenever, that’s up to them,” Dzulkefly told a press conference at the Ministry of Health’s (MOH) headquarters here today.
“The distribution [of the letter] is an internal activity that must be handled by MAAC and whichever units and departments that are involved. That is their ‘punca kuasa’ or matters related to the MAAC. That has nothing to do with me.”
Dzulkefly explained that the January 10 “surat edaran” on the WBB pilot project is about showing proof-of-concept from the pilot phase.
The health minister also stressed that the “overall implementation” of WBB requires “final approval” from him and the Public Service Department (JPA).
He told CodeBlue on the phone after his press conference that the decision on whether to expand the shift system to the entire health service – after the pilot project is complete – lies with him and JPA.
Dzulkefly’s verbal remarks about leaving it to MAAC to decide on the piloting of the WBB shift system were not captured in his written media statement issued after the press conference.
“Waktu Bekerja Berlainan was built by doctors for doctors,” the health minister said in his written statement.
According to his written statement, the MOH formed MAAC in January 2024 that comprises 10 clinical specialists working at the frontlines of MOH hospitals, including internal medicine, obstetrics & gynaecology, orthopaedics, surgery, radiology, paediatrics, anaesthesia, emergency, and family medicine among others.
Dzulkefly said working 33 consecutive hours for on-call duty, which can reach up to 99 hours a week, should not be a norm in a career that’s meant to improve health and save lives.
“This system was built by doctors on the field for doctors on the field after taking into account various inputs from stakeholders at various stages,” said the health minister.
“Their year-long effort found an urgent need to improve the current work scheduling system. It’s clear that WBB is an additional option to the current system, not to replace it. The choice of whatever work schedule is subject to the respective hospital administration and department’s capacity and preparedness.”
Dzulkefly insisted at the media conference that the January 10 letter by MOH development division director Dr Mohd Azman Yacob was not a “circular”, as only the Health director-general can issue a circular.
“Unfortunately, the letter was disclosed to the public by irresponsible parties and the functions of WBB were misunderstood. This caused much conflict,” he said.
He added that whoever “leaked” the letter – which he maintained was only meant for internal circulation – has yet to be identified.
“There’s too much misinformation and disinformation, as a result of extrapolations written in the public domain.”
Dzulkefly also told reporters that he has spoken to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim about expanding the on-call allowance increment to all doctors, regardless of whether they’re in the WBB system or not, and that a Cabinet meeting this Friday will discuss the matter.
Three groups representing medical doctors have opposed the WBB shift system: MedTweetMY, Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK), and the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA), including its Schomos section.
Doctors’ associations described 18-hour weekday shifts (3pm-9am) – which are ineligible for on-call allowance claims despite graveyard hours – as “exploitative” and “dangerous.” They also highlighted the injustice in restricting on-call allowance raises to doctors implementing WBB.
News of the “inhumane” WBB policy had sparked fury among medical officers and specialists across the public health service, with calls for the resignations of Dzulkefly and Health director-general Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan. Such demands are unprecedented in recent history.
At least seven government and Opposition lawmakers or leaders from Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Harapan (PH), and Perikatan Nasional (PN) have denounced WBB, saying that the shift system does not reduce work burdens or solve the fundamental issue of staff shortages.
Under the WBB system, scheduled to pilot in certain departments at seven MOH hospitals next month, medical and dental officers, as well as specialists, are not eligible to receive the Elaun Tugas Atas Panggilan (ETAP) allowance for 18-hour weekday shifts (3pm-9am) 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.
