KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 28 — Doctors in university hospitals and the Home Ministry’s prison health services have yet to receive the revised on-call allowance (ETAP) rate, said the Malaysian Medical Association (MMA).
The doctors’ group said it was informed that some doctors were even told that the ETAP revision was “not mentioned” for non-Ministry of Health (MOH) health care facilities in a circular by the MOH.
“This inconsistency highlights a serious equity gap within the public health care system. Doctors across ministries shoulder identical responsibilities, face similar risks and endure equally demanding workloads,” said MMA president Dr R. Arasu in a statement today.
“Unequal implementation sends the wrong message — that the value of a doctor’s contribution depends on which ministry they serve, not the work they do.
“Such disparities are not harmless delays. They contribute directly to the push factors driving Malaysia’s brain drain. When a national policy meant to uplift and support doctors is applied unevenly, it reinforces feelings of neglect and disillusionment among healthcare professionals.
“Malaysia cannot afford to lose more medical talent because of avoidable bureaucratic inconsistencies.”
MMA’s statement followed complaints by two lawmakers about the non-implementation of the new ETAP rate in university hospitals under the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE).
During her debate in Parliament yesterday at the committee stage of MOHE’s 2026 budget, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said medical officers in university hospitals were still receiving the old ETAP rate of RM200 for weekday calls, instead of RM280.
“The management of university hospitals were said to have not received written instructions from the ministry,” said Kok.
Senator Dr RA Lingeshwaran said he has received complaints that medical officers at university hospitals like Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Malaya (UM), and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) were still being paid the old ETAP rate.
“This is a serious breach of the government’s instruction that set the date of effect of the new payment rate on October 1, 2025,” he said in a statement yesterday.
The senator attached a screenshot of an October 30 circular by the MOH secretary-general that said the ETAP revision was also applied to medical and dental officers, including specialists, in the Armed Forces and public universities.
Dr Lingeshwaran further alleged that certain departments, like obstetrics & gynaecology at Hospital USM (HUSM), only allowed payment of one ETAP claim, to be shared by two medical officers doing active calls.
According to a Budget 2026 document by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), on-call allowance increments for medical officers, specialist medical officers, and dental officers will be raised by between 33 per cent and 43 per cent, according to eligibility.
The new ETAP rate for weekend active calls for medical officers was increased by RM80 from RM220 to RM300 per shift, while specialist doctors will get an RM100 raise from RM250 to RM350 per shift.
The new RM300 weekend on-call allowance rate for medical officers is equivalent to RM12.50 per hour for a 24-hour shift.
