KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — In a widening fiasco, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has again postponed the ePlacement process for the permanent appointments of over 2,000 medical officers.
In an email sent by the MOH’s Human Resource Division (BSM) last Saturday at 11.54pm — just 39 hours before a second round of selections was supposed to open at 3pm today following the invalidation of the February 27 placements — BSM announced that the ePlacement system would open in three phases from March 25 to March 27 instead.
“This rescheduling is a necessary measure to improve the security of the ePlacement system, besides getting advice from an agency related to cybersecurity to manage technical issues that occurred during the placement selection session on February 27, 2025,” BSM said in its email from rayuanmo@moh.gov.my, as sighted by CodeBlue, to affected contract doctors.
The MOH did not specify the technical or cybersecurity problems it is facing with the ePlacement system, nor the seriousness of the issue that has now forced yet another last-minute postponement of relocations for 2,245 UD10 medical officers. Neither did BSM explain why the third ePlacement session is planned for phased implementation.
The new schedule for the ePlacement process is as follows:
- Phase 1: March 25 (10am-6pm) for contract officers from the 2020 cohort
- Phase 2: March 26 (10am-6pm) for contract officers from the April and June 2021 cohorts
- Phase 3: March 27 (10am-6pm) for contract officers from the August, October, and November 2021 cohorts
“In this matter, the quota for vacancies for placements in each state will be distributed and opened across all three phases to ensure a fairer and more systematic opportunity for placements,” said BSM.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad did not respond to medical officers’ pleas to uphold the February 27 results, after the MOH announced the nullification of the initial placements a week later on March 6.
An anonymous person posted on their @frustratedxdoc X account that medical officers nationwide had taken leave, switched on-call rosters, and even travelled to their nearest city for good internet connection to prepare to select their permanent placements on the ePlacement system last February 27.
Even though the ePlacement system was supposed to open at 3pm that day, many users only managed to log in about two hours later. The website was reportedly down for over an hour, “same issue for years now.”
The person said doctors made plans all over again — applying for leave, changing on-call dates, and making travel arrangements — to prepare for today’s scheduled reopening of the ePlacement system, only for the MOH to postpone it to March 25-27.
“Dear @KKMPutrajaya @DrDzul, is this really the best you can do for your very own medical officers who sacrifice blood, sweat and tears for you and for the rakyat?” Frustrated MO posted on X last Saturday.
“Do you think this is fair treatment? Are we just numbers on a piece of paper? Just plain statistics to you?
“Do you not see us as human beings with families, commitments and responsibilities? PLEASE HEAR US OUT. We are tired, we are exhausted and we are frustrated. Many of us are on the brink of quitting.”
At least three affected contract doctors reached out to CodeBlue to complain about the latest delay of their ePlacements. One pointed out that doctors don’t work 8-to-5 jobs, saying: “Some of us have on-call to change, family issue, elective OT to attend, or cases to follow up. They can’t just change the placement date again and again as if we are jobless waiting for the opportunity. We care about patients, that’s why we never complain much. But we have pride too.”
Another contract medical officer questioned the timing of an official email being sent out close to midnight on a weekend (March 15) and the short notice for the third ePlacement date (March 25-27). The doctor also questioned the phased nature of the third ePlacement session, noting that there were no such arrangements for previous placements.
A mass message titled “Urgent: Cry for help from 2,245 contract doctors: KKM’s neglect and injustice” — which has been circulated on the internet — demanded the reinstatement of the February 27 placements after the announcement of the third ePlacement date for March 25-27.
“WE ARE REACHING OUT FOR YOUR HELP to raise awareness about this situation and amplify our voices. This issue has reached a breaking point, and it is crucial that KKM is held accountable for its neglect of health care professionals. We deserve stability, respect, and the opportunity to serve the country without constant disruption,” said the message emailed to CodeBlue.
“We need KKM to be consistent and professional in handling our placements.”
