KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 — The Ministry of Health (MOH) has once again postponed the placement of over 2,000 medical officers, scrapping a scheduled application window next week as it overhauls its flawed first-come, first-served system.
The latest delay, announced today, marks the third time in as many weeks that officials have cancelled placement plans. The government now says applications will reopen in six to eight weeks under a new “merit-based” selection process, but no firm date has been set.
The suspension follows the February 27 collapse of the ministry’s ePlacement system, which crashed under an extraordinary 19 million hits, Health director-general Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan said.
“The application statistics showed an excess of approvals compared to the original quota, while less than one per cent of vacancies in Sabah and Sarawak were filled,” Dr Radzi told a press conference at MOH’s headquarters in Putrajaya. “This resulted in data that could not be used at all.”
Authorities initially sought to refine the system, but simulations found it still failed to ensure a fair placement process. “Therefore, the application dates previously informed to candidates via email—March 25, 26, and 27—have been cancelled and postponed to a new date that will be announced later,” Dr Radzi said.
A total of 2,245 medical officers are affected by the postponement.
Despite concerns over “technical issues” that led to the February 27 placement results being voided, cybersecurity agencies found no evidence of external interference, pointing to internal system failures rather than cyberattacks.
“The Digital Department and National Cyber Security Agency (Nasca) were involved, and no security breach or intrusion was found. This was also reported to Cyber Security Malaysia,” Dr Radzi said.
The ministry is now developing an in-house ‘ePlacement 2.0’ system with enhanced security measures to prevent potential issues.
The revised selection system is also expected to replace the current first-come, first-served method with a “merit-based” approach that better balances supply and demand, Dr Radzi said. While aiming for greater transparency and fairness, the Health DG stressed that service needs would remain the top priority.
“The real objective of ePlacement is to fill necessary vacancies for service delivery,” he said, adding that half of the available positions remain in Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia’s two largest and most remote states.
The delay is expected to push back reporting dates for incoming medical officers previously set for May. “We are not only considering the current batch but also the next one in May, which we will reschedule to ensure fairness,” Dr Radzi said.
The repeated delays have left young doctors frustrated, with some forced to rearrange housing and travel plans. MOH will hold an engagement session with affected medical officers to provide further clarification.
“For now, they (medical officers) will remain where they are until we restart the application process to ensure continuity of service,” Dr Radzi said.
