KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 9 — Sarawak Deputy Premier Dr Sim Kui Hian said today that he will discuss with the state premier and Cabinet about providing state benefits to attract and retain medical talents.
Beyond immediate financial assistance for medical officers, the proposed benefits for “deserving” doctors include Sarawak permanent residence (PR) for their whole family, besides entitling their children to the state’s free tertiary education initiatives and Yayasan Sarawak international schools.
“Sarawak needs talents. We recognise and would like to attract talents,” Dr Sim, who is also the state public health, housing and local government minister, told CodeBlue when contacted.
Dr Sim said recently that 293 medical officers (MOs), or 54 per cent, of 542 allocated to Sarawak by the Ministry of Health (MOH) in the latest permanent appointment intake for October 1 did not report for duty.
The MOH’s allocation of 542 MOs itself fell short of the Sarawak state’s request for 650 MOs.
The nearly 300 doctors who did not report for duty included resignations, rejections of permanent offers, specialisation study under HLP, deferrals, and unknown status.
Dr Sim added that the MA63 technical committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof, will also discuss funding for dilapidated clinics and hospitals, estimated at RM17 billion, and coordinating with Sarawak state government initiatives of RM3 billion, housing for state and federal staff throughout Sarawak, and an extra 11,000 medical officer posts needed.
He stressed the importance of creating more positions to prevent burnout among doctors, saying the issue wasn’t just about money, but also living and working conditions.
Dr Sim pointed out that the state government has created a few hundred JBC (Jawatan Berasaskan Caruman) positions for the Works Department in Sarawak, besides a similar exercise for the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) in the state, as federal projects of less than RM50 million are implemented by the state’s government agencies.
“This way, no need JPA (Public Service Department), EPU (Economic Planning Unit), MOF (Ministry of Finance) etc.”
The Sarawak deputy premier also said the lack of transfer allowance for medical officers relocating from the peninsula to Sarawak for permanent positions would no longer be a significant issue once the contract system is abolished, as previously promised by Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad.
The main issues, he said, were about working conditions and staffing shortages in the government health service.
“You need to address working conditions (needs to create more posts), living conditions, lifestyles; it’s too simple just to address money,” said Dr Sim.
“No one wants to work in a dilapidated clinic in a rural area. No one wants to work in a place where their living quarters are worse than squatters.”
He also acknowledged the importance of career pathways, when CodeBlue pointed out that many Sarawakian doctors prefer to serve in the Klang Valley instead of the state where they were born.
“Same pay, work less (more posts sharing the work), and more time for you to focus on passing your exam,” said Dr Sim. “It’s multifactorial.”
He pointed out that Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) has been the top research site in the MOH for three consecutive years, while Sarawak Heart Centre was the only MOH cardiac centre ranked by Newsweek among the top 100 in the Asia Pacific. “It’s not just about money.”
Yesterday, CodeBlue published a letter from an anonymous medical officer who urged the Sarawak state government to provide financial incentives and support to attract and retain doctors.
