KUALA LUMPUR, August 7 — More than 2,000 experienced government doctors and nurses — each with over five years of service — have resigned from the Ministry of Health (MOH) between 2022 and 2024, Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad told Parliament.
In a written Dewan Rakyat reply to Gopeng MP Tan Kar Hing yesterday, Dzulkefly said the total includes 705 medical officers and 1,394 nurses who exited the public sector over the three-year period.
Resignations among experienced public health care workers remained substantial, with medical officer departures declining slightly year-on-year, from 272 in 2022 to 229 in 2023 and 204 in 2024. In contrast, nurse resignations showed a marked increase, rising from 304 in 2022 to 521 in 2023 and 569 in 2024.
“The main reasons recorded by MOH for the resignations are because the officers wish to serve in the private sector or statutory bodies, for personal reasons, and due to health problems,” Dzulkefly said.
The health minister acknowledged that the ministry has no authority to prevent medical officers and nurses from seeking job opportunities in the private sector or overseas. “However, it is MOH’s responsibility to intensify efforts to retain existing talent and to reduce attrition through several initiatives,” Dzulkefly said.
The government remains committed to addressing attrition in the public health service by improving workforce development and filling vacancies. Between 2022 and 2024, MOH appointed 12,761 medical officers and 5,396 nurses to permanent positions.
Among the steps taken, Dzulkefly said the government exempted new nurse appointments from interim contract requirements in 2023 and 2024. The same exemption will apply to 2025 recruitments, which may be offered permanent positions.
Dzulkefly added that weekly shift hours were reduced from 45 to 42 for medical officers in emergency departments and for nurses in wards. The Ministry also introduced various financial incentives, including locum allowances, specialist incentive payments, post-basic qualification allowances, and hardship location allowances.
Medical officers undergoing their supervised work experience (SWE) are also eligible for a pre-gazettement incentive payment, which Dzulkefly said recognises “commitment and workload during the SWE period”.
Doctors are eligible for time-based promotion from Grade UD9 to UD14 within nine to 12 years. For paramedics, promotion is available under the Time-Based Excellence Promotion scheme (TBK 1 and TBK 2) upon completing 13 years of service.
“MOH is committed to improving incentives and benefits for medical officers to ensure they remain in service,” Dzulkefly said. “We will continue to strengthen human resource management from time to time, especially for existing, new, and upgraded health facilities, so that the best possible health services can be delivered to the people.”
