KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 — Health care professionals and the general public have excoriated Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul in massive fury for comparing the wages of doctors to Members of Parliament.
His remarks at an interview with BFM’s The Big Issue aired last Friday – during which he said doctors could keep “100 per cent” of their salary, unlike MPs whose RM25,000 monthly allowance wasn’t enough due to obligatory donations to constituents – aroused unprecedented levels of public hostility towards parliamentarians.
Many health care workers in the government health service pointed out that they frequently covered expenses like travel, basic needs (diapers, milk, food etc.), and even medical devices like wheelchairs or walking frames for penurious patients out of their own pocket.
Health care staff in the Ministry of Health (MOH) added that they even fork out their own money to meet facility needs in Klinik Kesihatan or hospitals due to limited budgets, such as basic medical equipment, stationery, or consumables like tissue, besides department events or token contributions to patients during community programmes.
Doctors in the private sector, on the other hand, told the Parliament Speaker that many of them treat poor deserving patients for free.
Dr Kamal Izzat Emir Kamal Hakim – who was a contract medical officer from 2021 to 2023 – said he often helped to pay for transport for impoverished patients when he was serving at Duchess of Kent Hospital (HDOK) Sandakan in Sabah, before resigning from public service.
“People are less fortunate there. Some of them need to travel from village to city just to get an appointment. Most of them need to pay a hefty amount for transportation. Sometimes we need to postpone their appointment because of emergency cases, so they don’t have enough money to go back and forth,” Dr Kamal Izzat Emir told CodeBlue.
“So I’ll always chip in or pay for their ride, which can cost up to RM100 per trip, just so that they won’t miss the next appointment.
“They often don’t tell you about it unless asked. I asked them, ‘Makcik, balik macam mana? Ada orang boleh ambil ke?’ Something like that. Then they say they don’t have their own transportation; they need to call someone to take them from their home to the hospital. But the good thing about them is they rarely miss their appointments.
“Since I know I can afford to pay, sometimes I’ll do it just because it’s the right thing to do at that time.”
Health Workers Use Own Money For Facility Needs
A paramedic in MOH wrote on Facebook that health care workers in Klinik Kesihatan in rural areas often paid out of their own pockets to “top up” clinic needs.
“We set aside 10 per cent of our salary to buy whatever necessities for patient needs. That excludes NCD (non-communicable disease) programmes with tiny allocations,” she said.
“Don’t misunderstand me; not all places mandate contributions. I myself (and actually, many MOH staff) practise using a portion of our salary for patients, especially when I’m taking care of stable mental health patients and children with special needs.”
When contacted, the paramedic told CodeBlue that “staff in rural areas often face a lack of funds”, particularly in public health clinics where she has served for a decade. “Staff use their own initiatives to ease things for low-income patients.”
Another person wrote on Facebook: “Many clinics or hospitals don’t have enough equipment. So we fork out money from our own pockets since we don’t know how long we need to wait for the budget, even though we need to use those things now.”
A medical officer said he has given money to poor families for their follow-up visits to the government hospital in Johor where he serves, since a taxi ride costs more than RM50.
“When I ask if they’ve eaten, they can only smile. So I quietly hand them cash or pay their expenses for their travel. Even when I was a paediatric officer, I often gave some pocket money to parents for milk and diapers,” he wrote on Facebook.
“Apart from that, a few of my doctor friends from all over Malaysia, including myself, joined forces to do free clinics and soup kitchens under NGOs. ‘Doctors simpan duit 100%?’ Repulsive statement.”
‘Doctors Donated So I Could Eat Three Meals Daily’
Hasbeemasputra Abu Bakar, spokesman for mental health advocacy group Siuman, posted on X that Siuman’s work has largely been driven by public donations, “with many coming from doctors who want to see positive change in our public health care system.”
He cited, as an example, Siuman’s fundraising drive in 2023 that successfully met its target of RM24,200 to attend a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session by the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, to present the state of disability rights in Malaysia.
“Quite a few doctors from this hellsite donated to this,” said Hasbeemasputra. “Doctors have also donated their hard-earned money to make sure I eat three meals a day. Jangan sembang berlagak la.”
Mohammad Jawdan – who is currently working as a property agent, unit trust consultant, and takaful agent after serving the MOH under contract for less than a year – similarly slammed Johari for his ignorance about the reality of a doctor’s life.
“Doctors use their own income to cover a small portion of the cost of treatment for their patients. They also fork out their own money not just for patients’ treatment, but community programmes,” Jawdan posted on Facebook.
“The government’s budget is small, so doctors pool their money to make the event grand and successful. Don’t pretend that MPs are the ones who care the most for the people.”
Ordinary Malaysians Witness Doctors Working 36 Hours Straight
Malaysians among the general public came to the defence of the medical profession, particularly after Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh told the Speaker of the House of Representatives to work on-call duties in a hospital to understand the plight of doctors.
“Then you’ll know what their situation is like. While you’re comfortably sleeping in a big house and soft bed with an aircond, they’re losing sleep to work to save lives,” said Dr Akmal, who operates a medical clinic in Merlimau, Melaka.
“Yes, they’re saving lives, not making stupid statements after getting tens of thousands of ringgit in salary. Even if you don’t want to give, you don’t have to make such statements; it just causes the rakyat to be disgusted with politicians like these.”
The Merlimau state assemblyman’s Facebook post, which attached a screenshot of CodeBlue’s article on Johari’s comments, received more than 8,000 likes and a whopping 1,200 over comments from doctors, other health care workers, and the general public.
In his BFM radio interview, Johari dismissed CodeBlue’s proposal to cut MPs’ and senators’ allowances and pensions by 50 per cent to fund a 25 per cent increase in medical officers’ on-call allowance, estimated to cost RM80 million annually. Medical officers are currently paid RM9.16 per hour, or RM220 per shift, for weekend active calls.
The House Speaker engaged in whataboutism, asking about allowances for police officers and fire and rescue personnel instead. He also said an MP’s RM25,000 monthly allowance isn’t sufficient because aside from running an office, elected representatives feel compelled to give cash handouts to their constituents during emergencies or occasions like weddings or funerals.
Johari pointed out that MPs work long hours, including 17 hours on weekends from 7am to midnight, to see their constituents, besides attending meetings for party work as members of political parties.
A few Malaysians commenting on Dr Akmal’s Facebook post said they have seen government doctors work 36 consecutive hours during on-call duties.
“We ordinary people understand the work of a doctor. Last month, I met a doctor at HSAJB (Sultanah Aminah Hospital Johor Bahru) because my sibling-in-law had an ulcer in the intestine. The doctor inadvertently told me that when he was examining my sibling-in-law, the doctor hadn’t rested or slept despite working for 36 hours,” a woman wrote.
Another Malaysian said she has seen for herself how a doctor was forced to work 36 hours during on-call duty. “We shouldn’t simply say things without considering doctors’ sacrifices to treat patients.”
A man said some doctors who couldn’t rest for days died in road accidents while on their way home. “MPs have drivers and can eat and drink peacefully, while getting allowances. They fight like monkeys occasionally, but later go out for tea together – ‘you know, I need to toe the line’.”
MPs Fly Business Class, Doctors Self-Pay For Professional Development
Dr Aimir Ma’rof, a general surgeon at a government hospital in Sarawak, wrote on Facebook about how he spent more than RM2,000 to attend the Conjoint Ipoh Surgical Symposium/ MyHPBS Congress in Perak from September 18 to 21.
His expenses included driving 200km from Sri Aman to Kuching, flying from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur, then driving his father’s car from the capital city to Ipoh, as well as four nights’ accommodation at a three-star hotel, plus course and conference fees.
“Can’t claim at all. But we understand that we need to spend our own money to pursue professional development and medical knowledge.”
Dr Aimir contrasted his experience with politicians, as he recalled seeing an MP seated right at the front of business class in his Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur for his surgical conference, when he was lining up to enter economy.
He didn’t think much of it at that time, saying that people had their own journeys in life and that it never occurred to him to fly business because everyone on a plane would end up at the same destination anyway.
But Johari’s remarks triggered Dr Aimir’s memory of the MP in business class.
“Who paid for her business class flight? The seat beside her was empty even though the plane was full – was it intentionally paid to be empty? When she arrived at her destination, do you think she stayed at a five-star or no-star hotel? Who paid for her meals? Did she have to drive herself or did she have a driver?” said Dr Aimir in his Facebook post that received 600 shares.
“So forgive us, Mr Speaker. If you want to say that we keep 100 per cent of our salaries, that’s so clearly a lie – what more compared with the minimum RM25,000 monthly salary and allowance that you say is received by backbencher elected representatives.
“Please don’t be less intelligent when you make statements as a self-dubbed ‘leader’. All doctors in Malaysia always ‘donate’ thousands of ringgit in their savings every year to learn and become a specialist in their respective fields, so as to save lives and to give back to society.
“Government facilities frequently lack things and equipment, so doctors and other health care workers are the ones who constantly give ‘donations’ every day from their own pockets out of their pitiful salaries.”
Dr Aimir noted that Johari acknowledged that six of his children, who are doctors, frequently complain to him, presumably about low salaries and allowances, as he asked how the Speaker responded to his own children.
“If this is the answer you gave them, then you have failed not just as an elected representative, but I’m sorry to say that you failed even bigger as a father.”
[Johari is a former MP from PKR who represented Sungai Petani for three terms from 2008 to 2022. His son, Dr Mohammed Taufiq Johari, is the current Sungai Petani MP].
‘Wait For The People To Punish You In GE16’
Dr Justine Sim, a senior medical officer serving at a public hospital in the Klang Valley, said doctors aren’t asking for sympathy, but dignity and fair compensation.
“How dare doctors expect a raise in their RM9.16/hour on-call allowance when MPs are out there attending 11 weddings a day, handing out RM200 per envelope? Truly, the burdens of Parliament are heavier than saving lives,” he wrote sarcastically in a Facebook post with more than 300 shares.
“So the next time an MP feels the urge to cry poor about their RM25,000 allowance, here’s a thought: keep your donations to yourself, stop boasting about them, enjoy your business class flights and corporate chairmanships quietly.
“And maybe — just maybe — spend a weekend doing a 33-hour on-call shift in a government hospital. Then, and only then, will you have earned the right to complain.”
A surgeon at an MOH hospital complained that many legislators, though not all, often requested doctors and other health care workers to prioritise their family members or people close to them who sought treatment.
“They like to cut the queue. Some patients will ask a YB to instruct that their surgery or scans be expedited to get ahead of other people awaiting their turn. Many of our YBs are like that; they feel like they’re our masters who can order civil servants around as they please,” he wrote.
Another man, who said he has seen how hard health care workers toiled when he was a patient at Kuala Lumpur Hospital (HKL), warned the Madani government to face the people’s wrath at the next general election.
“My friends – doctors and civil servants, use your ballot paper to bring down those who increasingly spout nonsense day by day.”
