KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — Kota Melaka MP Khoo Poay Tiong has suggested that the government recruit foreign doctors as a short-term mitigation strategy to address a severe shortage of house officers and specialists.
The DAP lawmaker expressed deep concern with recent data provided to him in Parliament by Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad on how only 53 per cent (6,500 doctors) out of 12,198 housemanship posts in 48 training hospitals nationwide were filled as of last month.
“This is a stark contrast to the situation a decade ago, when Malaysia faced a so-called ‘glut’ of house officers due to insufficient training slots, a crisis that led to the introduction of the contract system. Today, we are witnessing the opposite extreme,” said Khoo in a statement.
“Such a drastic swing reflects deep structural weaknesses in long-term workforce planning. Human resource planning in health care cannot operate on short budgetary cycles.
“It requires forecasting that spans decades, taking into account medical school output, specialist training pipelines, retirement rates, migration trends, and evolving disease burdens.”
Khoo noted that the data on specialist doctor numbers was “equally troubling”. As of December 31, 2025, there are 8,674 permanent specialists and only 15 contract specialists serving in the Ministry of Health (MOH).
“This remains far below earlier projections that Malaysia would require approximately 16,792 specialists by 2025, and 19,714 by 2030 to meet population health needs,” he said.
Khoo urged the government to consider hiring foreign doctors as a short-term mitigation strategy.
“However, this must be approached cautiously. We must not compromise standards. Only graduates from institutions recognised by the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) should be eligible, and language proficiency and sociocultural competency must be carefully evaluated to safeguard patient care.
“Remuneration structures must also be handled equitably to avoid fuelling further dissatisfaction among local doctors.”
He also told Putrajaya to address health worker remuneration and welfare “honestly”, saying retention was as important as recruitment.
“Competitive pay, predictable promotion tracks, manageable workloads, and improved working conditions are essential if we want doctors and allied health professionals to remain in the public sector.”
Khoo further recommended a structured and simplified return pathway for Malaysian health care professionals serving overseas.
“In collaboration with TalentCorp and relevant agencies, the government must actively attract them home with clear credentialing processes and competitive career progression pathways.”
The DAP lawmaker also called for a comprehensive and transparent audit of the MOH workforce of not just doctors, but also nurses, pharmacists, nutritionists, physiotherapists, clinical psychologists, medical assistants, and other allied health professionals.
“Workforce gaps are rarely isolated; shortages in one category often cascade across the system.”
Dzulkefly told the Dewan Negara recently that only 529 medical graduates reported for duty for 5,000 housemanship training slots offered last January.
