Dear PMX,
Kindly note that while we are losing doctors in Malaysia, SSPA decided to cut our Bayaran Imbuhan Wilayah (BIW) allowance.
For your information, this is the allowance given to those who are sent to work in Sabah and Sarawak due to insufficient workforce. Let me explain it to you how bad the allowance cut is.
Before 2024, the BIW allowance was based on a percentage of salary, of which one will receive around RM600 to RM900 a month. Now, it has changed to a fixed monthly rate of RM360.
The public should know that we’re not actually getting RM360 because once we receive our BIW allowance, our Bantuan Imbuhan Sara Hidup (BISH), which is RM300, will automatically be cut. This leaves us with just extra RM60 compared to our friends working in Semenanjung Malaysia.
Amid the Iran war, we are facing difficulty buying expensive air flight tickets to go back home. Most of us have family. I myself have a six-month-old child.
When I have to travel very frequently back to Semenanjung to visit my child, this extra RM60 just isn’t enough. Although I’m working in Sarawak, this also affects doctors working in Sabah.
I understand that the government’s financial status doesn’t allow the BIW allowance to follow percentage of salary anymore, but at least something equivalent or not less than the previous allowance should be reinstated.
Or or at least subsidy in the form of air tickets for those working far in Sabah/Sarawak and not just extra RM60 for us.
If the government doesn’t appreciate those who work in Sabah and Sarawak, please allow us to get transfers back to Semenanjung and you can save the extra RM60. Please reconsider this suggestion if you don’t want to lose any more good doctors in Malaysia.
The author is a medical officer working in Sarawak. CodeBlue is providing the author anonymity because civil servants are prohibited from writing to the press.
- This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of CodeBlue.
