KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) today launched an online petition for Budget 2026 to allocate a raise in doctors’ on-call allowance to RM25 per hour.
The petition, which is open to all Malaysians, compared the sought-for RM25 hourly on-call allowance raise for medical officers to the current RM25,000 monthly allowance for Members of Parliament.
“For more than a decade, Malaysian doctors have been forced to endure the same outdated rate of RM9.16/hour, unchanged since 2012, even as they work punishing 33-hour shifts to save lives.
“Meanwhile, MPs take home a minimum of RM25,000 in monthly allowances, a figure that stands in shocking contrast to what doctors receive for lifesaving responsibilities,” said HDK in a statement on the first day of the current Dewan Rakyat meeting.
The contract doctors’ group pointed out that MPs’ monthly allowance of at least RM25,000 is more than 733 per cent higher than Malaysia’s median income.
“Doctors work sleepless nights, weekends, and 33-hour calls — yet their hourly rate doesn’t match even basic part-time jobs,” said HDK.
“Doctors do not receive ‘allowances’ for weddings, funerals, or community events. Their service is to patients — every heartbeat, every surgery, every emergency resuscitation. Yet, their work is consistently undervalued.”
In a recent BFM radio interview, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul dismissed a proposed 50 per cent cut to MPs’ allowances to fund doctors’ on-call allowance, saying that legislators’ RM25,000 monthly remuneration was insufficient.
He claimed that doctors could keep “100 per cent” of their salary, whereas elected representatives were obliged to give donations to their constituents on occasions like weddings and funerals.
“We call on all MPs — who hold the power to pass the Budget — to support a revision of ETAP (on-call allowance) to RM25/hour in Budget 2026. Anything less would be an insult to the medical profession and a betrayal of the rakyat’s trust,” said HDK.
The doctors’ group urged Malaysians to sign and share its petition and to tag their MPs on social media: “RM25,000 for MPs. RM25/hour for doctors. Fairness is not too much to ask.”
The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) has similarly demanded an allocation in Budget 2026 to increase doctors’ on-call claims to RM25 per hour.
Doctors’ groups demand for an RM25 hourly on-call allowance raise means a 173 per cent increase from the RM9.16 to RM25 hourly rate, or from RM220 to RM600 per shift for weekend active on-calls.
ETAP claims for medical and dental officers currently cost the Ministry of Health (MOH) about RM288 million annually.
A 173 per cent increase translates to an additional RM498 million a year, pushing the ETAP cost up to RM786 million annually.
